Argonauts And Allies
by MTK4FUN
Summary: AU California Gold Rush - Join the Everdeens, Hawthornes, and Mellarks as they search for gold in a mining camp. "The only way my mother would agree to let us spend any time together is if you asked permission to court me," Katniss joked. "It could work," Peeta said. "It might even stop some of the stories going around."
1. Chapter 1 - The Letter

**Chapter 1 – The Letter**

**Oregon, 1848**

Katniss Everdeen unfolded the letter that her cousin Gale Hawthorne had hand-delivered. It had already been unfolded and re-folded so many times over the past few days that the thin paper was starting to tear at the edge of the crease. She and her sister Primrose simply couldn't stop reading it.

It was from their father. Two months ago he, his half-brother Samuel Hawthorne, and his twenty-year-old nephew Gale had left their small farms in Oregon to travel down to California territory in search of gold.

The trip wasn't taken as an idle whim. Earlier that year, in January, a carpenter named James Marshall had discovered gold in the American River in California's Sacramento Valley. Marshall had been building a sawmill for John Sutter, at the time. Both men had tried to keep the discovery secret, but word got out. It wasn't long before the news had spread northward to Oregon.

At first Gale had begged his parents to let him join some other young men in the area who were making the four-week journey on the Siskiyou Trail to the gold fields. The more Gale talked up the opportunity, however, the more his father and uncle grew interested. The result: both men decided to make the journey with Gale and the others to investigate the gold furor. It would be a fine adventure for the two fathers who were nearing middle age. They said they'd only stay a short time. They needed to return to harvest the crops, anyway.

"We'll pick up our fortune and head back home," Katniss' father had explained, as if all he had to do was bend over and pick up golden rocks that lay on the ground.

Their plan wasn't unique. In fact, more than half of the adult men in Oregon had dropped their responsibilities, and departed for California. Oregon was well situated geographically to take advantage of the news that was quickly spreading to the far corners of the United States, and even the world.

Whether or not Gale would remain in California when the two fathers returned had never been discussed. But a few days ago Gale had returned alone, bearing a letter for the Everdeens.

Twirling the end of her dark braid in her hand, Katniss read it yet again.

_Dear Family, _

_It's beautiful country here in California. Not that Oregon isn't. But there is gold just sitting in the rivers and streams waiting to be picked up. Yesterday I snatched up a nugget easily worth $150._

_We live in a mining camp with about forty others. We all hail from Oregon. There is a town two miles from us called District 12. It is a small, rough place where we can get supplies. We jokingly refer to our camp as Dirty District 12, as it is filled with unwashed and unshaven men. _

_There is one woman, however, called Sae. She cooks for us. A young fellow, Peeta, does the baking. The rest of us spend dawn til dusk panning for gold in the river. In the evenings we play cards. Sometimes we sing old songs. _

_I don't see a reason to ever return to Oregon. I believe the Everdeen future is here in California. Pack up the necessities and sell everything else. Gale is giving Hazelle a similar letter from my brother Sam instructing her to do the same. Gale will assist with the sales and will guide all of you back here._

_Be sure to bring your washtubs and sewing notions. There is much money to be made from the men who work this camp, and the other camps nearby. They will pay well for someone to wash and mend their clothes. Katniss, bring your bow along and your gun. There is much game in the area to be found. It would certainly improve Sae's stews. _

_God willing, I'll see all of you soon in Dirty District 12._

_Love, Father_

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx

It had been such a surprise when Gale showed up at the front door without the others. He looked fine, happy, excited even. He handed his aunt the letter. Katniss' mother had appeared puzzled, but she hugged her nephew, his tall, lean body dwarfing her petite frame. She kissed his cheek and asked if he wanted something to eat.

But Gale had been in a hurry to leave. He wanted to go home and see his mother Hazelle, and his brothers, fourteen-year-old Rory and ten-year-old Vick, and his sister Posy, who was only seven. He said he'd return later. Katniss' mother told him to bring his family back for dinner. Gale had nodded.

As soon as Gale had left, her mother unfolded the letter and read it silently. Her lips at first formed a smile, but it quickly turned into a frown. By the time she had finished reading, her lips were pursed. Her mother had thrown the letter down and retreated to her bedroom.

Katniss was glad Gale had already gone by then. She was embarrassed by her mother's dramatic outbursts. It wasn't easy having such a mother, a woman prone to melancholia.

She picked up the letter from where it had fallen, curious to learn what had upset her mother. Prim stood next to her and the two girls read silently together. When they were done, Prim had turned to ask, "Are we really going to California?"

"It appears so little duck."

Gale had returned later with his mother Hazelle and his siblings. Katniss had forgotten all about her mother's dinner invitation to her Hawthorne cousins, and was flustered when they appeared. Her mother was still in the bedroom, lying on the bed staring off into space.

Quickly, Katniss pulled more potatoes out of the bucket that sat on the shelf and cut them up, adding them to the stew pot that hung over the fire.

Hazelle joined her mother in the bedroom, gently closing the rough-hewn door behind her. Gale sat down on the bench at the table facing the fireplace.

"What's it like?" Katniss asked, sitting down to talk.

"California?"

She nodded and he began to speak. He told her of the mining camp where they lived. "Our group joined up with some others when we got there, but all of us hail from Oregon," he said. "We live in tents. We eat together. We mine the riverbed. We help each other out."

"Are there other families there?" Katniss asked.

Gale shook his head. "There's only one woman, Sae. She's married to one of the miners. There aren't any kids."

"I don't know Gale," Katniss hesitated. "This doesn't seem like such a good idea. How are we going to live in tents? It will be winter in a few months." She raised her arm and pointed at Prim, Rory, Vick, and Posy who were sitting there, quietly listening to their conversation. "What about school? What were our fathers thinking?"

"Katniss, there is so much gold lying on the ground, we'll all be rich. Your father picked up a nugget worth $150 one morning. That's nearly five months wages. With that kind of fortune lying around who needs school?"

"We'll bring our books," Prim interrupted. "I can teach them."

Rory snorted. "You can't teach me nothing I don't already know. I'm going to get me some gold."

Vick nodded in agreement. Only Posy seemed not to have an opinion.

Katniss shook her head. She understood why her mother was upset. Her father was a dreamer. Six years ago, he had persuaded Katniss' mother to leave her large extended family in Missouri and travel 2,000 miles by covered wagon train to settle in Oregon. Katniss had been twelve years old then, and Prim, eight. She had fond memories of the trip, spending her days out-of-doors walking alongside the wagon with her mother and Prim.

But it had been a difficult and dangerous journey. Many people had gotten sick and died. There had been a couple of accidents. One boy had been crippled when a wagon wheel had crushed his leg.

Once they arrived in Oregon, her family had to start all over again, clear the land, build a house, purchase and tend livestock, and plant crops to survive. If it hadn't been for the help of their Hawthorne relatives, who arrived the following year by wagon train, the Everdeens wouldn't have made it.

The two families had worked together to establish themselves. It had been a struggle and as the oldest children in each family, she and Gale had taken on many adult responsibilities at an early age. They acted as hunting partners and kept their families fed while their fathers had done more of the necessary heavy labor.

But over the past year, her father had been complaining. Oregon was getting too crowded he said. Just two years ago, in 1846, Great Britain had ceded ownership of Oregon to the United States. More and more Americans were arriving every day. In fact, the United States government was planning to grant Oregon territorial status in just a few months.

She looked around at the home her father had built. It was strong and sturdy. Their lives were settled. Why was her father always looking for the next big thing? Why couldn't he be content?

She was eighteen years old. What kind of future could she expect living in a mining camp with a bunch of unwashed and unshaven men? Meet and marry a man who was exactly like her father? And what of Prim's future? She shuddered to think of her sweet fourteen-year-old sister living under such crude conditions and becoming a laundress or seamstress for the miners.

Katniss had once asked her mother why she agreed to move to Oregon. Her mother had said she did it for love. Was that love strong enough to carry them to California now? One thing Katniss was certain of - she wasn't going to fall into the same trap her mother did. She was never going to fall in love. She knew it was inevitable she'd marry someday. There weren't any other choices available for decent woman in 1848. But even if she had to marry, she'd never give her heart away.

When dinner was cooked, she ladled the stew into tin bowls and gave everyone a spoon. Even though Prim called, their mother and aunt didn't leave the other room. Katniss insisted that everyone eat anyway, without waiting for their mothers.

It was nearly an hour later when her aunt exited the room alone.

"You're mother isn't hungry," Hazelle said. Katniss gave her aunt some stew to eat.

Her aunt ate quickly, then left with her children.

A couple of days later, Katniss' mother summoned the strength to get out of bed and face the tasks ahead. The next few days were busy ones as both families decided what to pack for their journey and what to leave behind.

The Siskiyou Trail, which was the route to California, was a rugged one. They only dared take a small cart. Everything needed had to be carried by mules or horses. Finding buyers of their farms was impossible, though. Too many men had left the area to travel to the gold fields. Both families ended up selling their livestock at a loss to their neighbors, abandoning their homes and leaving the crops in the fields to rot.

They packed up some basic household goods, clothing, and plenty of extra food. Gale had explained that the cost of everything was much higher in California.

Finally, a week after Gale returned, they were ready to leave. "It's like traveling to Oregon all over again," Katniss' mother complained.

"At least it's a shorter trip," Hazelle sighed. She was just as upset as her sister-in-law about their husbands' decision, but she seemed to take it in her stride. "We'll all be together again. Who knows, they might strike it rich."

Her mother managed a feeble smile.

The two families traveled nearly twenty miles most days. They spent their evenings sleeping in two large tents, which would become their new homes. They had to hurry. It was already early October and they didn't want to get caught in the mountains if it snowed.

This was the same route Katniss' father and uncle and cousin had taken two months earlier. Gale had returned via an even shorter route, which involved traveling 140 miles to the coast of California and taking a ship from San Francisco that sailed up to the Oregon coast. Unfortunately the two families didn't have the money to take that mode of transport to California because of the expense. Katniss silently fumed that her father had bragged about his gold nugget in the letter, but didn't send along any money to fund the more expensive route.

After nearly five weeks of travel, they arrived at their destination – the Dirty District 12 camp.

In the distance she saw a swath of canvas tents, in a variety of hues. She took a deep breath. The air smelled of pine. The surrounding landscape was very different from the lushness of Oregon. Here was sandy soil, bushy plants, towering oak trees and large pines. She could hear the rush of water nearby that must be a river, but she couldn't see it yet.

As they approached the camp they came upon a makeshift outdoor kitchen. A large fire was burning with iron rod fixed across the top. A large pot hung from it. An older woman, her skin brown and wrinkled by the sun, was standing nearby.

There was a stocky, blond-haired man laboring near a small cook stove.

"Hey Peeta," Gale called out.

The man turned toward Gale. His jaw was flecked with stubble. His bright blue eyes opened wide when he saw all of them standing there. He took in the group quickly. Katniss thought she saw a look of surprise cross his face for a moment when he saw her and Prim, but it was so quick, that she wondered if she had imagined it. He stepped away from the stove and limped toward Gale.

The expression on his face was solemn. A shiver went down her back. Even though Katniss didn't know him, something in his manner told her that he bore bad news.

"There's been sickness in the camp," he addressed Gale. "Your dad and your uncle are pretty bad."

"Where are they?" Katniss' mother ran forward, stretching her arm to grab at the blond-haired man. He took a nervous step back, nearly stumbling over.

"In their tent." He pointed toward the far end of the camp.

"I'll show you," Gale said, as he sprang ahead to lead the way.

Her mother turned toward her two daughters. "Wait here with your cousins."

She and Hazelle hurried after Gale.

The man watched Gale and the two older women rush off, then turned back to stare at the others left behind.

An awkward moment of silence followed, until he spoke. "Are you hungry? I just made some bread."

**Author's Note: The Argonauts were a band of heroes in Greek mythology that accompanied Jason in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. The people who came to California in search of gold, also referred to themselves as Argonauts. **

**The gold miners of 1848 were mainly from California, Oregon and other near-by areas, like Northern Mexico. It wasn't until 1849 that people from all over the United States and the world finally arrived in California to search for gold. **

**Melancholia was the term used to describe depression in the 19****th**** century.**


	2. Chapter 2 - The Girl

**Chapter 2 - The Girl**

Peeta Mellark couldn't believe his eyes. He knew this girl. He knew her family. He'd been living with her father and her uncle for months now, all the time never knowing they were related to the girl he couldn't forget.

She had been on the same wagon train when he and his family traveled across the Plains to Oregon six years ago. He remembered the long dark braid that had hung down her back. He remembered her observant grey eyes that seemed to stare right through people. He remembered watching her walk alongside the wagon with her mother and sister, who had looked so very different than her with their pale blonde hair. She'd seemed so confident and beautiful that he'd been too shy at that time to even talk to her. She had intimidated him too much.

Their families had little contact with each other on that trip. Peeta's mother wasn't particularly friendly and had looked down on the rest of the travelers. As a result, he'd never even learned the girl's name.

The events of the overland journey were burned in his memory because of the injury that occurred near the end of it. While walking up a steep hill, the oxen had slid backwards on the muddy terrain. He had been following behind with his brother Rye, pushing the back of the wagon. When the weight of it came rushing toward them, his brother had gotten out of the way, while Peeta's left leg was crushed by the wagon's wheel.

The injury had been serious. His leg was bruised and broken. He'd had to ride in the back of the wagon for the remainder of the trip. Without a proper doctor in their party, the leg hadn't healed well. Fortunately he didn't need a cane anymore. But he had a noticeable limp in his walk. It slowed him down. His leg often hurt when he had to stand for long periods.

Once the wagon train had arrived in Oregon, the other travelers had gone their separate ways. His family had settled in Oregon City and opened a bakery. His oldest brother had taken over when his father fell ill a few years back.

Rye, who was the second-born son, had convinced their mother to fund his and Peeta's travels to the gold fields. The idea of instant wealth had great appeal to Rye, and Peeta suspected even his mother had been intrigued by the possibilities. His father, who spent most of his days in bed now, warned his sons against falling prey to the vices that would be available in a society populated mostly by young men away from the influence of their families.

For Peeta, however, the adventure of the trip was enough of a lure. California, where gold was supposedly lying in all the rivers and streams seemed like a mythical place, unlike the muddy gloom of Oregon. Besides, he'd eventually have to move elsewhere because he was a baker, too, and he couldn't very well open a business in direct competition with his brother in Oregon City.

He and Rye had met up with the other miners of Dirty District 12 as they traveled to California.

Since they'd arrived, however, the romance of California had worn away for Peeta. Searching for gold was tedious work, standing in icy water for hours, with his back bent over. At the end of the day, his leg was throbbing in pain. Yes, there was gold to find, but it wasn't as simple as merely picking it up. The riverbed needed to be scooped up and sifted through bit by bit.

After a short while, he chose to work with Sae to feed the group. When he'd heard that Gale was returning to Oregon to get his family, he'd considered traveling back with him. But he knew his mother would have a fit if he returned home after such a short time without making his fortune. He finally decided to stay at the mining camp and save his pay. He was earning a decent amount feeding the miners, money he needed if he wanted to open his own bakery someday.

Now that she had appeared, he was glad he'd stayed. Of course, having to tell her family the bad news about their loved ones was not good.

Gale's father and uncle had been sick for at least two weeks now. They both suffered from ague, an illness that included intermittent chills and fever. It had spread through the camp, over the past month and had already resulted in two deaths.

He knew he'd been fortunate, as both he and Rye had so far been spared from illness.

He had watched her face drop. But then, her mother had screamed and ran up to him. The girl's face had grown hard, her mouth forming a straight line, like she was willing herself not to react. The others looked startled, as Gale had escorted the two older women to the sick tent.

He couldn't think of what to say next, but then he remembered the bread.

The youngest child, another girl with dark hair, smiled. "I would like some bread," she said.

"Good," he replied. He turned and limped back to the small platform the cook stove was set up on. Next to it was a counter where the fresh loaf sat. He took a knife and began cutting it into slices. He turned around, expecting that the little girl would have followed him back to the stove. But she was still standing with the group. They all seemed frozen in place.

He grabbed a nearby plate and arranged the bread slices on it. He carried it over to the group.

"Here," he said, holding it in front of the little girl. "Take a piece."

The little girl took one and bit into it.

She smiled. "This is good."

He held the plate out for the others. Everyone took a slice, except the dark-haired girl who stood eyeing him warily. She hadn't grown much taller in the past six years, but her figure had filled out. She was dressed in a blue gingham frock. She still wore her hair in a long braid down her back. A strand of hair had escaped it and was hanging along the side of her face. He had the sudden urge to push it behind her ear, but he restrained himself.

"I'm Peeta Mellark," he said. "I don't know your names."

Her sister finished chewing and spoke. "I'm Prim Everdeen. These are my cousins, Posy, Rory, and Vick Hawthorne. This is my sister Katniss."

He made eye contact with each person, as Prim spoke their name and pointed to them. With the exception of Prim, all of them had dark hair. When Prim named her sister, he looked at Katniss and smiled brightly. She caught his eyes for a brief moment, then immediately looked away. She didn't smile. She scowled.

He wondered if he did something wrong. Was she angry with him? But how was that possible? She didn't know him. Did she recognize him from the Oregon Trail?

He didn't have time to think much about it because the blond-haired woman returned with Gale.

"What is there to eat here?" she asked Peeta.

He held the plate toward her that had only three pieces of bread on it.

The woman shook her head. She wore a worried expression.

"Katniss, you need to go hunting," she said. "I need some meat. I want to make some broth for your father and your uncle."

Katniss frowned. "Alright mother," she finally spoke. "I'll get my bow. Will you come with me Gale?"

Gale shook his head. "I need to set up the two tents and water the horses. Peeta can show you where to hunt."

Gale glanced at him. "Do you have the time?"

Peeta gulped quickly and nodded in return.

Katniss scowled a second time. She walked back to the small cart and began digging through an wooden trunk looking for her bow and arrows. A few minutes later she walked over to him, bow and arrows in hand, and a game bag slung over her shoulder.

She followed him as he put the plate with the remaining bread into the pie box set up near the cook stove.

He turned to look at the bow and arrow she held. "Don't you have a rifle?"

She frowned. "Yes, but I prefer this," she said. "The sound of the gunfire scares away the other game."

He nodded, but he was surprised. He'd never know anyone who used a bow and arrow to hunt, except maybe Indians and he guessed even they'd prefer a gun if it was available. Katniss was certainly an interesting person.

"We won't have to go too far to find game," Peeta said. "Just get away from the camp, that's all."

Her face took on a serious look as they began walking, his bad leg making a loud thump as he limped along. He noticed her glance at his leg briefly and then turn her head away. His face grew warm with embarrassment. He'd grieved the injury years ago and was used to the looks of pity he saw in people's eyes once it became apparent he was crippled. But for some reason, her glance brought fresh grief.

He was lost in his thoughts when he noticed that she had stopped. He turned when he heard a whizzing sound and watched her arrow speed directly into the eye of squirrel. The creature fell onto its side and Katniss ran ahead, picking it up and carefully removing the arrow. She put the dead animal into her game bag and started forward.

"That was impressive."

He noticed a faint smile at her lips, but she said nothing.

Over the next couple of hours, she shot three more squirrels, two rabbits, and five quail.

"That should be enough," she said, turning toward him. "We can go back to the camp now."

They set off in the direction of the camp. "Why are you here?" Katniss asked him, as they trudged along.

He was startled. What exactly did she mean?

"Gale asked me to show you…" he began.

She shook her head fiercely. "Why aren't you looking for gold like the others?"

Oh. He wasn't sure how to answer. Would she think he was foolish because he enjoyed baking over standing in an icy river for hours on end? "I didn't like it much," he finally admitted.

"Why?"

"It's tedious. The gold isn't lying on the ground ready to pick up."

She was quiet for a few minutes before asking, "Did you find any?"

"I found a couple of small nuggets in the river when my brother and I first got here. But then I stopped looking."

"What do you do then?"

"The men pay Sae and I to cook. I'm a good baker. My family has a bakery in Oregon City. Occasionally, I go to District 12 to pick up supplies." He rambled on nervously.

"Do you like it here then?" She sounded surprised.

"It's alright," he said, pausing before he added, "it's different than home, though. Everyone's become greedy and kind of crazy because of the search for gold. You'll see."

He hoped she wasn't offended by his comments since her father and uncle and cousin were all miners.

But her face remained expressionless.

They arrived back at the camp to see that Gale had set up the two tents in a site not too far from the outdoor kitchen. Rory and Prim had already started a fire and hung a kettle over it.

Katniss opened her game bag and handed Peeta two squirrels.

"For showing me where to go."

"Oh, thanks," he mumbled, clearly being dismissed. He returned to his cook stove to begin dinner preparations.

He guessed she didn't remember him at all from the Oregon Trail since she never mentioned it. He was older now and looked very different from the scrawny twelve-year-old who traveled to Oregon.

It wasn't long until Sae arrived to prepare for the evening meal. After serving the prospectors coffee and bacon for breakfast, along with the biscuits Peeta made, she usually retired to her tent to rest until the early afternoon, when she returned to serve the miners some lunch.

Peeta gave Sae the squirrels and told her about the two families that had arrived and about taking Katniss out to hunt. She nodded. She'd said she'd already heard about them.

He could tell she was happy about the fresh meat. Sae wasn't a hunter and her husband was loath to stop mining even for a few hours to help her. Maybe Katniss would be willing to contribute fresh game for the evening meals. The miners would certainly be willing to pay extra for it.

The afternoon passed quickly. Normally the camp was quiet in the afternoons as he and Sae prepared dinner. Today it was noisy as Gale's siblings set up their campsite and argued amongst themselves. Peeta didn't mind though. It was comforting to hear the voices of others, especially women and children. Sae was quiet and the two barely spoke as they put the meals together.

Much later everyone returned from the river. They gathered around the campfire as he and Sae doled out the food. Tonight was bean stew seasoned with squirrel, cornbread, and apple cobbler. Everything was washed down with coffee.

Gale's and Katniss' families didn't join in. They cooked their own food. The smell of their meal was so welcoming, with its aroma of fresh, roasted meat, that several of the miners wandered to their campfire looking to purchase dinner.

"This is going to be a problem," Sae said to Peeta. "If that girl can hunt she will take away business from us. We need to work together."

He nodded. Sae was right of course. But he knew that Katniss' hunting would hurt Sae a lot more than him, because bread would be a good accompaniment to meat.

After dinner, the camp grew noisy as men pulled out their alcohol and gathered to play cards or brag about the gold they'd found that day. He carefully prepared the dough for the biscuits he would serve the miners the following morning. When he was finished, he went to the tent he shared with his brother. Rye wasn't there. He guessed his brother was probably playing cards.

The games, which the miners had initially started as a way to keep themselves entertained, had quickly turned serious as the men began placing bets. Some of the more talented card players were making more money off their card winnings than they were in their hunt for gold.

It was late when Rye returned to the tent. He stumbled in and accidentally woke Peeta up.

"You could be a little more quiet," Peeta groused.

"What a day," Rye slurred to his brother. "I got a great haul of gold this morning, then lost it all in the card game tonight."

Even half asleep, Peeta grimaced. His brother could be so stupid.

Rye continued. "That Everdeen fellow died tonight. At least his family got here to see him off."

Peeta jolted awake. Katniss' father was dead. Would she be leaving the camp now? He couldn't sleep for the rest of the night.

**Author's Note: The first organized wagon train traveled on the Oregon Trail in 1836. **

**Ague was a malarial infection characterized by chills, fever, and sweating. **

**Panning for gold in the rivers was called placer mining. Prospectors had to stand in the ice-cold water, bending over continuously while they let the water rush over their pan. Because gold is heavier than gravel and sand, it would sink to the bottom of the pan. Even a good miner could only process one hundred pans a day. It was difficult work. Many miners developed rheumatism, a painful disorder of stiffness and swollen joints, from it.**


	3. Chapter 3 - Hunting

**Chapter 3 – Hunting**

Her mother had made a broth from the quail that Katniss had shot that afternoon. When it was finished, she insisted that both her daughters bring it to their father's tent.

Prim had already seen him. It was Katniss' first sight of him in over three months, since he'd said goodbye in Oregon and left to seek his fortune.

She was shocked to see the hale and hearty man looking so emaciated. His face was drawn and heavily lined. His olive skin was pale. His voice was weak. All the anger and frustration she'd had toward him dissipated in the moment. He barely looked alive. He was lying on the hard ground, wrapped in a three thick quilts, but he was still shaking.

Her Uncle Samuel lay on the other side of the tent. He appeared much healthier. He was sitting up and talking with Aunt Hazelle. His voice was stronger and his cheeks had some color.

Prim slowly fed their father the pungent brown liquid. He murmured a soft thank-you. His eyes turned to look at his oldest daughter. "How are you Catnip?" he said, calling her by the silly nickname she'd had as a young child, a name she'd long outgrown and almost forgotten.

"Oh dad," she mumbled, "I'm okay. But you need to get well."

Her father closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. Watching Prim leave the tent, Katniss put her hand onto her father's forehead and brushed his hair away. His skin was burning.

She quickly followed Prim outside. Her mother was standing there when she came out. "Will he be alright?" Katniss whispered.

"I don't know," her mother muttered, before going into the tent.

Prim had already left for their campsite and Katniss followed. She wasn't any good around sick people. Her first instinct was to get as far away as possible.

But it was nearly dark now. She couldn't leave the camp. She heard the raucous laughter of the other miners who were playing cards, talking loudly, and even singing. All of them were acting as if they didn't have a care in the world. A few called out to her as she walked past, but she ignored them.

She blinked rapidly, trying to keep the tears that were burning in the corners of her eyes from leaking out. She hurried past Prim who had joined their cousins around the campfire. She went into the tent that Gale had set up for her and Prim and her mother. She wrapped herself in a quilt.

She must have fallen asleep, because the next thing she knew Gale was shaking her awake.

"Get up Katniss, your mother needs you."

She blinked several times, and then untangled herself from the quilt. She followed Gale back to her father's tent. The only light was from a few scattered campfires. Katniss could tell it was late because of the quiet, although a few miners were still playing cards.

As soon as she entered the tent, she heard Prim sobbing. In the dim lantern light, she saw her mother bent over her father, clinging to him.

"He's gone," Aunt Hazelle said softly.

Katniss turned to look at her aunt and uncle. Aunt Hazelle was hugging Prim. Uncle Samuel was sitting up in his blankets, his face contorted in grief. Tears streamed down his cheeks. He wiped them away with the back of his hand.

At that moment, Katniss didn't know how to feel. She had cried earlier in the quilt, when she worried about what would happen to him. But now he was gone. And she would end up in charge because she could already see her mother descending into grief.

She turned to Gale. "Can we talk?"

She grabbed his arm and pulled him outside of the tent. "Will you escort us back to Oregon? We have no reason to stay here now."

xxxxxxxxxxx

Her father was buried at sunrise near the other men who had died earlier. The location was about a quarter mile from the camp under an oak tree. Her Uncle Samuel was still too ill to leave the tent, however everyone else went. Hazelle woke up Rory, Vick and Posy before it was light, and told them the sad news. They dressed hurriedly and joined the others.

Katniss was the only one not crying. It was easier to focus her energies into forming a plan – leaving the mining camp and going home. Gale had refused to help her when she asked him the previous evening.

"We just got here," he said. "We can't go back the way we came. It's almost winter."

"What about the water route?"

"Can you afford it?" he asked.

"My father found a gold nugget. We could use it to pay for the trip."

Gale shook his head. "Katniss, your father liked to play cards. He didn't always win."

Her face grew warm. Did her father gamble away all his gold earnings? Were they destitute?

xxxxxxxxxxxx

After her father was buried, they returned to the camp. Hazelle cooked breakfast over the campfire and Gale and Rory left for the river to pan for gold. Hazelle brought some food to her husband's tent, taking Posy and Vick along with her.

Katniss' mother refused to eat and sat inside their tent, staring off into space.

"What are we going to do?" Prim asked.

Katniss shook her head. She wasn't sure what to do. For now at least, they were trapped at the mining camp. The two girls were sitting at the campfire when Peeta and a small wrinkled woman joined them.

"I'm sorry about your father," Peeta said. "He was a good man."

Katniss nodded, wondering if he knew her father well, or if he was only being polite.

After a moment, Peeta continued, "This is Sae. She does the cooking."

"What are your plans dear?" Sae burst out.

Katniss hesitated. She'd lain awake the entire night pondering that very question. "I don't know," she admitted. "We came here for my father…" Her voice trailed off. She took a deep breath, choking back her rising emotions. It wasn't sadness she was feeling, it was anger.

"Well, until you figure out what to do, I wonder if you'd like to help us?" Sae continued. "If you go hunting everyday and bring me some meat, I'll pay you for it."

Katniss didn't answer.

"At least it would give you something to do," Sae added. "Unless you're planning on panning for gold."

Katniss scowled. She had no intention to hunt for gold. It was a dream for fools, whereas she enjoyed hunting. It would be a way to earn money to get home.

"Alright," she finally agreed.

"What about me?" Prim asked Sae. "Is there some way I can earn money, too?'

"Can you sew?"

Prim nodded.

"Wash clothes?"

Prim nodded again.

"Those are things the miners will pay for young lady. Let me know if you're interested. I'll send some customers your way."

"Okay," Prim said.

Sae left to return to her tent. Peeta stayed behind.

"Do you want to go hunting now?" he asked Katniss.

Katniss gave him a puzzled look. "Were you planning to go with me? I don't need your help."

Peeta appeared stunned by her sharp tone. She could see the hurt in his blue eyes.

Embarrassed, Katniss tried to explain herself. "You already showed me where to go."

Peeta's crippled leg made him so noisy; he had scared away some game yesterday. Besides she wanted to be alone. She needed to be alone to think. To grieve.

His expression changed to one of resignation. "Just stay close in. There are all sorts of people wandering around because of the gold. It's not safe for you to be out there by yourself." He turned and walked away before she could respond.

Katniss went inside the tent to check on her mother before going hunting. She was asleep, no doubt exhausted from everything that had happened since they'd arrived in camp. Katniss grabbed her bow, arrows, and game bag, being careful not to wake her mother.

Prim said she'd stay inside with their mother, in case she woke up and wanted to talk. Katniss nodded, although she thought that scenario was unlikely. If their mother woke up, she'd probably stare at the canvas wall of the tent silently for a couple of hours until she fell back asleep.

She left the camp and headed out in the same direction Peeta had guided her yesterday. She walked much farther than before, taking careful note of her surroundings so she could find her way back. Peeta's limp had limited her range the previous day.

She got lucky when a large flock of geese flew overhead at a low height. She shot six of them. Later, she got two rabbits. Game was surely plentiful in the Sacramento Valley.

As she made her way back, she heard the distant noise of a horse galloping somewhere behind her. She quickly looked for a hiding place, but there was only a small shrub nearby. She jumped behind it, but it was too late. The rider had seen the flash of her blue gingham dress as she moved. He stopped in front of the bush.

"You one of Effie's new girls?" the man called out, glaring at her. He was older, with silver hair and a bright red face. "What you doing out here?"

She stared back at him angrily. "I don't what you're talking about."

"A feisty one I see," the man spat back. His horse trotted closer to her, and he bent down to grab at her arm.

She readied her bow and arrow to defend herself.

"Are you crazy?" the man shouted. "You don't mess with Cray." He pulled a gun from his overcoat and pointed it upwards, firing a shot.

She jumped back.

"Get back to Effie you stupid girl," the man shouted before riding off.

Her heart was pounding loudly as she hiked back to the mining camp. Was this why Peeta suggested she not go hunting alone? Was this why he told her to stick close to the camp? Who was this man Cray? Who was Effie? Did he think she was one of Effie's daughters? She'd have to ask someone about all these things. She didn't want to ask Peeta, though. He'd seemed upset when she rejected his offer of protection. She'd ask Gale. He might know.

When she returned to the mining camp, she gave Sae all of the geese, but kept the rabbits. She gave those to Hazelle who was cooking dinner for both families. Her mother refused to eat, but everyone else was hungry. Her cousins were pleased to learn that they'd likely be getting fresh meat every night for dinner since Katniss would be hunting for Sae.

Hazelle piled a plate high with rabbit, rice, and beans for her husband, and carried it down to his tent at the other end of the camp. She was staying in that tent with Posy for now as she nursed her husband back to health. Gale, Rory and Vick were sleeping in the tent Gale had set up near the Everdeen tent.

After the plates had been washed and put away, Katniss asked Gale if they could speak privately.

"Watch your cousins," she told Prim.

She led Gale away from their tents and they slowly walked through the camp. Around them the other miners were starting to spread out in small groups, to play cards and drink.

"If this is about leaving.." Gale started.

"No," she stopped him. "Something happened while I was hunting today. There was a man on horseback who asked me if I was one of Effie's girls. Who is Effie?" She didn't plan to mention that the man was waving a gun around. She suspected she'd never be allowed to hunt again if that story got out.

In the dim light provided by the glow of several fires around the camp, she noticed a peculiar expression cross Gale's face, as if he didn't want to answer her question.

His lips pursed. "Effie lives in District 12," he finally said. "She has a business and several girls work for her."

"What kind of business? Could Prim and I get jobs there?"

"No!" Gale's voice was harsh. "It's not the kind of business ladies work at."

She was confused. What kind of business was it? "I don't understand."

"The problem is you're too pure," Gale explained. "There aren't many woman around the gold fields. Effie's girls provide female companionship to the miners who are looking for… that sort of thing. It's kind of lonely being a miner..." His voice stumbled off.

She took a step away from her cousin, her eyes opened wide. Her face grew warm. Her cousin was talking about prostitutes. Did that man think she was a prostitute?

"How do you know so much about this Gale?" She wanted to ask if he'd ever visited one but the very thought of it turned her stomach.

"I hear the men talk," he said. "I've never even been to District 12. Remember, I was only here a couple of weeks before I left to get all of you."

She thought back to everything she'd heard about District 12. Her father had mentioned the town in his letter. Yesterday, Peeta had mentioned that he occasionally visited the town to pick up supplies. Did Peeta visit Effie's girls? Suddenly the blond-haired man became suspect in her mind.

"Katniss, you can't go out hunting alone," Gale chided her. "It's not safe. There aren't many women in these parts. You should go out with Peeta, especially if you're going to be working with him and Sae providing food for the camp. I'm surprised he didn't offer to go with you."

"He did," she muttered.

"Well, then go hunting with him. He knows what it's like around here."

Yeah, especially if he visits District 12 regularly, she thought grimly.

"Why did my father want us to come to this god-forsaken place," she lashed out.

"Because it's a land flowing with milk and honey," Gale replied. "We're going to get rich here. I can feel it."

"If we don't die or get killed first."

xxxxxxxxxx

The next day she asked Peeta if he would accompany her on her daily hunt. She didn't tell him why she changed her mind about hunting alone. It was embarrassing enough to talk to Gale about Effie's girls. She surely wouldn't be having that conversation with someone she barely knew.

Peeta initially appeared surprised, but he quickly agreed. The condition of his leg hindered the distance they covered. But fortunately game appeared and she was able to fill her bag rapidly.

Peeta didn't talk to her until she had finished hunting and they were hiking back to the camp.

"How much is Sae paying you for all this?" he asked her, pointing at her game bag.

Katniss looked at him curiously. None of your business, she nearly said aloud. But she wondered why he would even ask.

"Five dollars," she finally admitted. "It's a fair price."

"In Oregon, maybe," Peeta countered. "But prices in California are inflated now because of the gold. That meat is worth at least $20 here."

She gasped. Could he be right?

Peeta continued. "Flour in Oregon cost $2 for a hundred pound bag. It costs me $50 to purchase the same bag in District 12."

"Oh."

"Tell Sae you want at least $20."

"But what if she won't pay that?"

"Sae will pay alright. She won't want you cooking up that meat and selling it to the miners. You'd be cutting into her business then."

She nodded. That made sense. She smiled at Peeta. He was kind to pass along this information to her. She had to wonder, though, why was he being so nice? What was his game?

**Author's Note: It's estimated that one in every six gold seekers died within a few years of arriving in California due to accidents, poor diet, bad hygiene, and illness.**

**Price inflation was a result of the scarcity of goods available in California, plus the fact that with the discovery of gold, people could afford to pay more for goods and services and the people providing those goods and services took advantage of it. **


	4. Chapter 4 - The Cave

**Chapter 4- The Cave**

It irked Peeta that Sae was ripping Katniss off by paying her so little for the meat she provided. Katniss had only been in the camp for a couple of days. She had no idea of the amount of gold the miners were finding, how much it was worth, and what Sae was charging them for their meals.

Sae wasn't happy, when after taking out a few choice pieces for her family, Katniss offered the remainder to her for $20. Peeta thought Sae was going to collapse from apoplexy, she got so red in the face. But Sae finally agreed. She pulled a leather pouch from her pocket, opened it, and pulled out a couple of nuggets, placing them in Katniss' open palm.

Katniss looked at Peeta for confirmation, as if to ask, `is this enough?' He nodded and her hand closed around the gold.

"Might have to get my old man out there hunting again," Sae muttered before giving him a scathing looking and walking away.

Peeta knew that Sae blamed him. It was obvious that he'd told Katniss to ask for more. But he was glad he did, especially when her sister Prim came running up to show her the gold she'd found that afternoon in the river.

"Gale said it's worth at least $25," Prim said excitedly.

Katniss looked shocked. She picked up the nuggets and eyed them carefully. "How long were you at the river?" she asked her sister.

"Only an hour. The water is too cold to stay much longer."

Katniss pursed her lips. He could see she thinking things over. Maybe she'd give up hunting now and work at the river instead. He hoped not. He enjoyed going out with her, even if he was more of a hindrance than help.

He wondered why she'd changed her mind about asking him to accompany her. Peeta hoped she hadn't run into Cray. He was a fool who fancied himself the sheriff of District 12 and rode around bullying every stranger that passed through the area. Katniss wasn't safe out there by herself. If her father were alive, or her uncle in better health, he was sure they would have forbidden her to hunt alone.

But her mother was still lying in the tent grieving, her aunt was tending her sick husband, and Gale, who should have known better, was fixated on the river and getting as much gold as he could before winter hit in full force.

It was getting colder now. It was already November. Some of the miners were talking about leaving the camp, maybe moving closer to the California coast for the winter.

He knew that Rye wouldn't leave because he didn't have the money to pay for lodgings anywhere. Rye had found and lost a small fortune already due to his gambling. Peeta, on the other hand, had saved a considerable amount from the sale of his baked goods. He wondered what Katniss' family was planning to do. He was just getting to know her. He didn't want to lose sight of her again.

Over the next week, he and Katniss went hunting everyday after the miners left for the river. But it was getting harder to find game as the weather grew colder. They had to walk farther away from camp searching.

Peeta didn't mind the extra time he spent with her. If he woke up earlier, he was able to schedule his baking around her hunting, but the cold and the longer walks meant his leg was throbbing almost all the time. However, it gave him the opportunity to get to know her better. Not that she said very much to him. But she seemed friendlier than she had been initially.

Tiny flakes of snow began falling one morning, just as Katniss had shot a plump squirrel.

"Maybe we should turn back," he suggested. He rubbed his gloved hands together.

But Katniss disagreed. She watched the snow hit the ground. "It's barely sticking. We'll be back long before this gets bad."

They continued walking forward, toward the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Katniss shot a rabbit and was pulling the arrow out of it, when a sudden gust of wind blasted through the pine trees surrounding the couple. Snow began falling quickly, big flakes that were clearly sticking to the ground.

"We need to find someplace to wait this out," Peeta said. He scanned the hillside in front of them. "Over there," he said, pointing to a small opening in the rocks.

She hiked toward the shadow he'd pointed out on the hillside. She scrambled onto the rocky ledge and made her way to what looked like a small cave in the side of the hill. He followed slowly behind her. His leg was aching badly. He needed to sit down and rest.

The cave was at least six feet high, tall enough for him to stand in, and about ten feet deep. It was cool inside, but at least it was shelter. Katniss sat down on the hard ground and he joined her as the two watched the snow coming down. With the wind blowing and the snow falling, it was getting difficult to view the surrounding landscape. All they could see was a white blur.

Neither of them spoke for a while. "When do you think it will stop?" Katniss finally asked.

"I don't know."

Unless the snow stopped immediately, there was no way they would make it back to the camp today. Even thought the camp was only a couple of miles away, it wasn't safe to go walking in a snowstorm. It would be too easy to get disoriented and lost.

Sae would have to feed all the miners. He hoped Katniss' family wouldn't be worried, that they would assume he and Katniss had found shelter to wait out the storm. Hopefully Rye would think the same.

He thought about starting a fire. He had flint and steel in his pocket. But he needed something to burn. He eyed Katniss' wooden bow. Probably not a good idea, unless they were really desperate. He scanned the cave. In the back was some animal dung. It would work as a fuel source.

"I'm going to start a fire," he told Katniss. He handed her the pocketknife he always carried with him. "You skin the game and we can cook it."

She nodded.

Peeta wanted her to stay busy. He could see the uneasiness in her eyes, heard it in her voice. He guessed she was worrying about her family. They didn't need this additional concern so soon after the loss of their father.

He kicked at the dry animal dung and positioned it in one corner of the entrance of the cave before attempting to start the fire. It didn't take too long. Using dried animal waste as a source of fuel for fire was a neat trick he'd picked up when his family had traveled to Oregon. Of course then, they used dried buffalo dung or chips, as people called it.

By the time he had a small fire going, Katniss had neatly skinned the squirrel and rabbit.

"How exactly will we cook it?" she asked, handing his knife back.

He cut off a small cube of rabbit meat and skewered it on the end of his knife. He held it in the fire until the outside of the meat was blackened, but cooked on the inside. He drew it out of the flame, blew on it for a moment, then quickly pulled it off the knife and handed the piece to Katniss.

"It's hot," he warned.

She tossed it between her icy hands, cooling it before she popped it into her mouth. It took a long time to cook the rabbit bit by bit, but eventually they ate all of it. While the fire was still going strong, he knew the fuel wouldn't last much longer.

"Let's cook the squirrel too, we can save it for later," he said. The fire was nearly out by the time the last piece of squirrel meat was cooked. He scooped up a bit of snow from outside the cave and set the cooked meat on top of it.

The light was fading fast and it would be dark soon. However the snow was still falling thickly.

"I guess we're spending the night here," he said.

Katniss turned sideways to lean up against the wall of the cave and sighed. She reached into her pockets, pulled out a single mitten, and frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"I must have lost one of my mittens. It's not in my pocket." She put the single mitten on her right hand, then rubbed both hands together, blowing on her uncovered hand before shoving both hands back into the pockets of her father's leather hunting jacket. She had started wearing it after his death.

Peeta turned to lean his back against the cave wall, as well. He scooted next to Katniss.

"It's cold in here right now and it's going to get worse later," he said. "So please let me do this." Without waiting for an answer, he moved his right arm around her shoulder and pulled her close.

Katniss flinched. She didn't say anything for a while. Then, in the darkness, he felt her body relax into his.

"Thank you," she muttered.

Neither spoke for a long time. After a while the snow stopped falling and the cave took on a golden glow as the moon rose in the sky. Even though he was wet and tired, Peeta could still appreciate the beautiful snow scene that appeared outside the entrance of the cave. Everything was blanketed in white. The pine trees looked like they were sprinkled with powdered sugar. Best of all he had his arm around Katniss.

He thought Katniss had fallen asleep, but then she spoke. "How's your leg?"

Instantly the pain seemed magnified. He'd been thinking on other things and had been ignoring the throbbing of his leg ever since they'd taken shelter in the cave.

"It hurts," he admitted, wondering why she had even brought it up.

She didn't say anything for a while. But then she asked, "what happened?"

He didn't really want to talk about it. He didn't want her pity. But the question was hanging there and he felt compelled to answer the girl who he was holding close to his side. "I was run over by our wagon when we were traveling to Oregon."

Katniss remained quiet for a few moments as if digesting the information. Then she gasped, as if recalling the event. "We were on the same wagon train. I remember when you were injured."

He laughed. "I recognized you and your sister when you arrived in camp last week," he admitted.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I don't know. You didn't seem to know me."

"No. You're older now. You don't look the same."

Peeta was pleasantly surprised to realize that she'd even noticed his twelve-year-old self on that journey.

The shared experience of the trip to Oregon seemed to loosen Katniss' tongue and she began to tell him about her life in Oregon, her family's small farm, and her father's decision to have his family join him in Dirty District 12.

He listened carefully. He forgot all about his painful leg as she continued to talk. For all he knew, they'd die in this cave -of cold or starvation- but it didn't matter, as long as he was with Katniss.

But a shiver ran down his spine as she spoke of her desire to leave California, as soon as possible. "We need to get back to Oregon," she insisted. "My mother and Prim and I. There's nothing for us here."

He had felt the same way a few weeks earlier, but he was beginning to reconsider it. Clearly, there was plenty of opportunity for an entrepreneur in this land of plenty. He wondered if Katniss understood that. Why was she in such a hurry to go back to Oregon? Did she have someone waiting for her, a sweetheart perhaps? No, probably not. If she had a sweetheart, he'd be here in California, too. It was almost a joke, but everyone looking for gold seemed to be from Oregon.

Eventually their conversation died out. Katniss leaned her head into his chest and fell asleep. He could feel her steady breathing at his side. For the first time in a long time, he felt content.

He dozed off after a while. He woke up to the soft light of the sun's early rays dancing around the walls of the cave. Katniss was still asleep at his side. She was leaning even closer to him, if that was possible. He felt her twist her body slightly and gently moan. He hoped she was having a good dream. Because when she woke up they were going to have a nasty trek ahead of them.

Looking at the world outside the cave, he could see that it had gotten warmer. Wet snow was dripping from the tree branches. Walking back to camp was going to be a slushy mess.

He felt her body stiffen slightly and pull back from him. She was awake. He pulled back his arm from around her and bent it slightly. He'd lost all feeling in it during the night and hadn't even noticed.

"Good morning," he greeted her. "We can probably get back to camp now. But we should eat first." He pointed at the cooked squirrel meat that lay piled up near the entrance of the cave.

Katniss frowned. The pile of cold, greasy meat didn't look particularly appetizing. "You don't have any biscuits in your pocket?" she joked.

He laughed. "I wish." He stood up stiffly. "I'm going outside for a minute to check it out." He limped out of the cave.

The snow was at least six inches deep, but soft. He returned to the cave to see Katniss scratching at the side of the cave wall carefully with the end of her bow.

"What are you doing?" he asked her.

"What is this shiny stuff?" She pulled the bow back so he could see.

He looked more closely. There was a golden streak along the wall. He pulled his pocketknife out and began digging around it in the soft, limestone walls of the cave. He was able to dig out a chunk about the size of dumpling. He held it in his hand, staring at it closely.

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "It looks like gold. But I've never heard of gold being imbedded in stone, though. It's probably iron pyrite, which resembles gold."

"How can we find out what it is?"

"There are people in camp who would know."

"Can we trust them?"

Peeta knew Katniss was right to be suspicious of the other miners. If they showed the chunk to someone to verify it, the person would immediately want to know where they got it. Claim jumping was a big problem in the gold fields. You had to live at your claim site, or very close to it to prevent other miners from taking over. Even the miners panning at the river had staked out certain sections to work.

There was no way either one of them could attempt to dig out the gold, that is if it was gold, from the cave wall with winter upon them. They'd have to pry out what they could now and come back in the spring.

"It might not be gold," he countered. He didn't want to get her hopes up, even though for a moment he, too, had begun to fantasize about striking it rich.

"We need to find out," she said insisted.

They spent the next hour taking turns carving into the soft stone with his pocketknife, and eating the cold, greasy squirrel meat. "This would be so much easier if we had a pick," he complained.

Finally, they were able to dig out a second chunk.

"Now we both have a piece," Katniss said, as she handed one to Peeta and put the other into the pocket of her jacket.

The sun was getting higher in the sky.

"We need to get back," Peeta said. "I'm sure your family is worried."

Immediately Katniss' face changed. The look of intense concentration she displayed while digging in the cave wall was replaced with one of sadness.

"I got so caught up, I forgot about them,' she said simply.

The two of them exited the cave.

"We need to mark the entrance somehow," Katniss said. "In case it _is_ gold."

She gently kicked one of her feet into the snow until she felt a rock. She bent down and picked it up. "I'll make a little pile by the entrance," she said.

Within a few minutes, the two of them had gathered several stones and stacked them in the front corner of the cave.

"We can't tell anyone about this place," Katniss said to Peeta. "Because if it's gold, it's ours."

"You were the one who found it," he countered. "It's yours."

"But you found the cave," she insisted. "It's ours."

They walked back toward the camp slowly in the slush. Their shoes were soon soaked through, as was the bottom of Peeta's pants and Katniss's long skirt. On the way, Katniss was able to shoot a couple of squirrels. It wasn't much, but it was something.

"If it really is gold, a lot of gold, what are you going to do with your share?" Katniss asked., as they trudged along.

"Open a bakery, maybe even a restaurant," he said. "What about you?"

"Get back to Oregon."

For a moment his heart skipped a beat at her answer. But then he thought that it didn't matter what either of them wished because it likely wasn't gold at all.

About a half-mile from camp, they heard voices calling their names.

"We're over here," Peeta shouted.

Gale was the first to appear. There were several miners, including Rye, who were on horseback searching for them.

Gale stopped his horse and got off. "Thank God you're safe," he said as he threw his arms around Katniss. Gale took her bow, arrows, and game bag from her and helped her up onto the horse, before turning to glare at Peeta.

Rye hopped down as well to let his brother ride back to camp. "So where were you hiding out Peetie? His brother's voice was low and he grinned lasciviously as he spoke. You should hear the stories back at camp about you and that Everdeen girl. Guess you didn't freeze last night."

Peeta's face grew warm. "It wasn't like that." His voice was harsh.

"I know," Rye guffawed. "You're not the type and I don't think that one would let you even if you were."

**Author's Note: Initially the first miners to arrive thought that gold was only in the streams and rivers because that's where it had originally been discovered. It was later that they realized there were gold deposits in the hills and mountains, as well. **


	5. Chapter 5 - Gossip

**Chapter 5 - Gossip**

A loud cheer went up when they arrived back in Dirty District 12. The snow had stopped the miners from panning at the river and most were congregated around fires throughout the camp. Peeta dismounted and immediately set to work baking.

Gale helped Katniss down from the horse and into the welcoming arms of her sister.

Prim was crying. "I thought you were dead Katniss," she sobbed. "I thought you froze to death in the snow."

"No," she assured her sister. "Peeta and I found shelter before it got really bad. It was alright. I'm alright."

"It was so cold last night," Prim continued.

"Yes, it was little duck. But it's warming up now, the snow is melting."

Katniss wanted to change the subject. She didn't want to tell Prim she'd spent the night snuggled next to Peeta with his arm tight around her. Because while the temperature had been cold, she had been warm, cozy even, despite the circumstances.

Of course it meant nothing, she wasn't interested in Peeta in that way at all. He'd really been a gentleman about the whole thing and for that she was very grateful. He was probably the only trustworthy person in the entire camp, other than her relatives. If she had to share a gold find with anyone, she was glad it was him, because he struck her as an honest person. At least she hoped he was.

She ran her fingers over the nugget in her pocket. Peeta had the other one. He said he'd try to find out if it was real and he'd let her know. She wanted to ask around on her own as well, if she could figure out who to ask. Because what if Peeta told her it was fake, but it really wasn't and he went back and got the rest of the gold out of that cave. She hated thinking that way about someone she liked, but Peeta himself had said that the gold made people greedy; it changed them even.

"Prim, how's Mama doing?"

"About the same. We didn't tell her about you being gone. We didn't want to upset her."

Katniss nodded. She doubted her mother even noticed she was missing.

She went inside to visit her and found her mother staring at the side of the tent, watching shadows form on the canvas.

"How are you doing today?" Katniss greeted her. "It's getting warmer now. The snow is melting. I got some squirrels for us."

Her mother didn't respond. Katniss frowned. What was she supposed to do now? Winter was coming. Was her mother planning to spend the entire winter in a tent in the middle of nowhere? How would she ever get her mother ready to travel back to Oregon? She left the tent discouraged.

Her Aunt Hazelle was waiting outside the tent. "You gave us a terrible scare," she said, as she hugged her niece. "Where did you spend the night?"

"We found shelter in a cave along the hillside," she admitted. She had to say something and she didn't think telling about the cave was too much information. Her aunt didn't know about the gold.

Aunt Hazelle lowered her voice. "Your mother isn't well right now, so she doesn't know what's going on, but spending the night with that crippled boy..." She shook her head as if to chastise her niece.

Katniss' temper flared at her aunt calling Peeta crippled. He'd been in a wagon accident, which gave him a bad limp. He walked slowly. There was nothing _wrong_ with him.

"What was I supposed to do Aunt Hazelle? Try to make it back to camp and get lost in a white out? Peeta was a gentleman."

"I hope so, but I'll have you know there are plenty of salacious stories going around this camp regarding you and him. These young men are worse gossips than a bunch of old biddies. Gale got into two fights yesterday defending your honor."

Katniss flinched, as if someone had struck her. The miners were talking about them. Why?

Her aunt continued. "Look around. You're the only unmarried woman of appropriate age for the men in this camp. You've kept very much to yourself, except for your friendship with him. Of course there's going to be gossip. "

"He accompanies me while I go hunting. Gale was the one who suggested it. "

"Oh Gale has told me a few other things, as well."

He must have told his mother about her questions regarding Effie' girls.

"I don't know why Samuel and your father thought it was a good idea for all of us to move here," she complained. "This is no place for families and certainly not for young ladies. Even Prim has been approached by the miners."

Prim? What was Aunt Hazelle talking about?

But her aunt didn't elaborate. Instead she complained that now Prim had to be with a family member at all times. "It's becoming a burden."

Yes, the Everdeens were trouble, Katniss thought. First her father had died, gambling away whatever gold he had acquired. Now her mother was lying in a tent in despair, while she and her sister were drawing unwanted attention to themselves simply for being unmarried women in a sea of unwashed and unshaven miners. They had to leave this place soon.

But then she put her hand into her pocket and rubbed her hand around the golden rock she and Peeta had dug out of the cave wall. Yes, they had to go, but not just yet. Not when she might be part-owner in a gold claim.

"I've been talking to your uncle," her aunt said. "Once he's feeling better, we're leaving this camp and moving to town."

"When do you think he'll be healthy enough to move?"

"In a few weeks," Hazelle said. "Meanwhile stay away from that boy. I don't want to hear anymore about the two of you."

"But what about hunting? Do you want me to go out by myself?"

Her aunt frowned. "You can go out with Rory."

"Isn't he searching for gold at the river?"

"Well, he can spare a few hours each day to help you."

"Alright," Katniss agreed, reluctantly.

She didn't see Peeta again until he showed up at their campfire the next morning to go hunting.

Aunt Hazelle was sitting by the fire drinking coffee. She glared at Peeta. "Katniss will be hunting with her cousin Rory from now on," she stated firmly. "She won't need your help."

Katniss was embarrassed at her aunt's sharp tone. Peeta had helped keep her alive during the snowstorm. He didn't deserve to be treated poorly because of the stories the miners were making up about them.

He glanced at her quickly after her aunt spoke. She shook her head at him and mouthed "later," before getting up to get her bow and arrows and game bag. When she returned Rory was ready. He held a rifle in his hand.

"I thought I'd help you," Rory said. "It'll go much faster if both of us are hunting."

She scowled. Hunting was her way to make money. She didn't want Rory cutting in on her work.

Although they had a good haul after a couple of hours of hunting, five rabbits, a half-dozen squirrels and at least 10 quail, she was frustrated. Rory had scared game she was tracking because of the popping sound of his rifle. A couple of the rabbits Rory shot weren't hit very cleanly and the meat was in poor condition.

He irritated her. While Peeta had been noisy, dragging his leg as he walked, at least he'd kept quiet. Rory was constantly talking. He never let up. When she got back to camp, she pulled out the two rabbits Rory had shot clear through the middle to give her aunt for the family's dinner. She gave the rest to Sae. Rory demanded that he receive half of the money Sae paid her.

"I could have made more money searching for gold," he complained when she offered him a small pinch of gold dust. He stomped off to put away his rifle and grab his pan so he could go the river.

Katniss walked over to the table where Peeta was forming biscuits and setting them on a small metal pan. He paused for a moment to greet her.

"Get much game?" he asked.

She nodded, biting her lip nervously. "I'm sorry about my aunt," she said. "She wants me to go hunting with my cousin instead now."

She wanted to tell him that about the stories that were circulating, about Gale getting into two fights because of them, but she was embarrassed. Besides maybe he already knew. Maybe his brother had told him.

Her aunt had warned her to stay away from Peeta, but that was silly. Nothing was going on. They were only friends.

He didn't react to her explanation. He simply went back to shaping the dough, rolling it between his broad hands, then working it into the round form of a biscuit before placing it onto the baking sheet.

"Were you able to ask around about the nugget yet?"

He stopped for a moment to look at her. "I haven't asked anyone yet, but I ran a test of my own."

"What do you mean?"

"Well if you hit gold with a hammer it flattens, iron pyrite shatters."

She opened her eyes widely. "What happened?"

Peeta set the dough in his hands down onto the pan, and reached into his pocket. He pulled out his chunk, which was now as flat as the biscuits he'd been forming.

She took one look at the flat lump lying in Peeta's hand, a tiny bit of dough now stuck to the side of it, and then glanced up at him. He was grinning.

She stared at him for a moment, before the news sunk in.

"It's real," she finally said.

"Real," he agreed.

They had found gold. She grabbed his wrist to hold it still and snatched the gold piece from the palm of his hand.

"I can't believe it," she said, holding it up in front of her face, turning it over carefully, before handing it back.

"Peeta, we're rich." Without thinking, she threw her arms around him, raised up onto her toes, and kissed his cheek.

For just a brief moment, Peeta froze. But then his arms went around her as well, pulling her tight. He lowered his head, pressing it partly into her hair, his stubbly chin scratching at the side of her face.

The hug, which lasted only a few seconds, was interrupted by Sae who wanted to borrow some flour. Peeta's arms dropped quickly to his side. Katniss lowered her arms, as well, and hopped backwards, her face beet red in embarrassment.

Why had she acted so impulsively and kissed Peeta? Especially when they were already the subjects of camp gossip? She couldn't explain it even to herself. She just knew that the flattened gold nugget had made her so giddy she hadn't been thinking clearly.

Did Sae hear her cry out? She wondered. Peeta shoved the gold piece back into his pocket and immediately left to get more flour.

She wanted to talk to Peeta longer, ask him how soon they could return to the cave with a pick so they could try to extract more of the gold, but she didn't want to wait there with Sae.

Instead, she returned to her family's campsite. Prim was sitting on the ground darning a sock.

"Whose is that?" she asked, not recognizing the red, cable knit monstrosity that Prim was holding.

Her sister looked up cheerfully. "It belongs to Mr. Boggs," she said. "I'm mending it for him."

She frowned. "How much is he paying you?"

"One pinch of gold dust," Prim said proudly.

Katniss scowled. Not only was she upset that her sister had lowered herself to repairing the holey sock of a miner, but now her sister was making even more money than she did by hunting since she had to give half of her earnings to Rory.

Katniss remembered her aunt's earlier comments about miners approaching Prim. She had to ask her sister what was going on.

Prim bit her lip and concentrated on her work, not looking at Katniss' face. "I was bringing dinner to Uncle Samuel the night of the snow storm. It had stopped snowing by then, but it was cold. Two of the men near his tent blocked my way. They offered me some whiskey. They said it would keep me warm. I think they were drunk. They were laughing kind of loudly. I was able to get away, but I stayed in Uncle Samuel's tent until Gale came looking for me."

Katniss grew angry. She wanted to know who these miners were who had accosted her sister. She was ready to go after them.

"Were you scared little duck?"

"Yes," Prim said, tears filling her eyes. "I don't like it here Katniss. I want Mama to get better. I want to go home."

Home. It was becoming clear to her that even if her mother did get better, even if they were to travel back to Oregon, they would never truly be able to go home again. With the death of her father that life was over. Or maybe it had already ended when her father had written the letter that brought them to California. Maybe she was only realizing it now.

"I know Prim," she said. "But things will get better. Very soon. I promise." She smiled at Prim and almost stared to tell her about finding gold with Peeta. But she caught herself. Not yet, not just yet. First they had to get it out of the cave wall.

Katniss went inside the tent to find her mother sitting up eating. It was the first time she'd taken any food since her father had died nearly two weeks earlier.

"Are you feeling better?" she asked her mother.

Her mother smiled weakly. "No, just hungry."

She filled her mother in on Aunt Hazelle's scheme for all of them to move to town when Uncle Samuel got better. Katniss thought her mother would be happy, but she didn't respond. When her mother had finished eating, she set her plate down and turned toward her daughter.

"Is something going on with you and that boy with the bread?"

**Author's Note: The early wave of gold miners in California consisted mainly of men -young single men and married men without their wives and families. **


	6. Chapter 6 - Town

_Author's Note: I wanted to give a warning before you read this chapter. One minor character makes a remark about people from another country that would be highly offensive in today's world, but was actually a fairly common opinion among whites in California in 1848. Please don't take offense. This remark is a plot point and you will see by the end of the story that the people who are slurred end up helping the characters resolve a serious problem. _

**Chapter 6 – Town**

Peeta had heard all kinds of fanciful stories about their overnight absence from the camp ever since they'd returned. Most of it was disgusting; some of it was downright lewd. He wasn't surprised by any of it. He was male and he had two older brothers; he knew the kinds of things that half-drunk fools talked about.

He didn't care so much about himself, though. Hell, if anything, the wilder the story the better he looked in the eyes of the other miners who had already deemed him a misfit - the poor cripple who didn't have the stamina to stand all day in the river and pan for gold.

No, he was concerned for Katniss. She was naïve, in the sense that she didn't realize that her status as the only single female of her age in the camp meant her every move was scrutinized and commented on daily by men not fit to breath the same air. She had no idea of the effect she had on them. The effect she had on him. His mind kept drifting back to that night in the cave when she slept so sweetly in his arms.

Clearly, her family was beginning to realize it, though. Unfortunately, it meant he couldn't go hunting with her any more. He wasn't surprised by her aunt's reaction. He guessed the only reason he'd been deemed a safe hunting companion initially was because of his status as a cripple. So, in a way, the fanciful stories had elevated his reputation –now her family looked upon him as a potential or, who knows, perhaps even a current seducer of their daughter.

This was not good. Especially now that they shared a gold claim. Because obviously they would need to spend some time together to figure out how to work this claim.

He'd been so surprised when he took a hammer to the gold-colored rock, they had dug from the cave wall. He fully expected it to shatter into a million pieces. But it hadn't.

Even though Katniss had been dismissive of the gold seekers, he knew she'd be excited when he told her. She'd catch the gold fever, like all the rest. He hoped it wouldn't change her. But he suspected it already had to a small degree.

He didn't think Katniss was the type of person to spontaneously hug and kiss someone after receiving good news. She seemed much more reserved. Of course, he'd been the beneficiary of that exuberance so he couldn't complain. However, he wished he could attribute it to something more than excitement over gold. He wished it were an expression of her feelings about him, about them together.

Later that evening, it became obvious that the news of Katniss' peck on his cheek and brief hug had spread throughout the camp. Cat calls, whistles, and hoots followed him to the tent he and his brother shared. Rye was already inside, playing a lonely game of solitaire, in the dim light.

"No cards with your friends?" he asked his brother.

"I'm out of money," Rye admitted. "I owe Darius at least $100. Anyway, some of them are headed to town tonight."

Peeta nodded grimly. After they had arrived, after he discovered what a fool Rye was in handling his gold earning, Peeta had developed the practice of carrying all his valuables in his pockets. Not that he thought Rye would deliberately steal from him, but he didn't want his brother to be tempted in a moment of weakness. He'd always known that he and Rye were different from each other. Peeta had always blamed it on the accident; Rye was whole and he was crippled.

But here, living amongst the temptations of liquor, cards, and the loose woman of District 12, he saw a whole new difference. Rye was weak; he was strong. Strong enough to see how these temporary distractions would deter him from his goals. Peeta wished his brother could gain this insight. Because this weakness was a lot worse than a crippled leg. This weakness could destroy your life.

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The weather warmed up a bit over the next few days, prompting the miners to return to their panning at the river. Peeta saw Katniss every afternoon when she made her delivery of game to Sae. She stopped at his cook stove to chat for a while.

"When do you think we can go back to that cave?" she whispered one day.

He glanced around quickly, hoping that Sae hadn't overheard her request. Without knowing about the gold, Katniss' question sounded like she wanted to meet up with him to re-enact some illicit behavior. He could just imagine what tale Sale could construct out of that simple question.

He was certain Sae was the one who'd passed along the gossip of Katniss' moment of giddiness. He knew she was still angry with him tipping Katniss off to the price inflation in California.

But Sae wasn't nearby; she hadn't heard.

"Probably not until spring," he said.

He watched her face drop.

"You don't suppose anyone will stumble across it…" Katniss countered.

"Not likely, it being winter and all." He remembered the animal dung he'd burned to cook the meat. "It wouldn't surprise me if a grizzly bear wasn't holed up in it for winter by now."

"Bears go into hibernation in the fall," she explained. "The cave would have been occupied already if a bear was going to use it."

She changed the subject. "My aunt wants to move to town for the winter. She thinks it would be best for us."

Peeta wondered exactly how that would work. Were Gale and Rory going to hike a few miles to the river each day? Would Katniss be able to continue to hunt for Sae?

"Has your aunt even been to District 12?"

Katniss shook her head.

The town was a couple of miles away. It was comprised of only four buildings – a general store, a small boarding house, a saloon, and Effie's brothel. District 12 was exactly the sort of place that catered to an all male population. There were no schools, or churches, or ladies' aid societies, or people who even thought those institutions necessary. It was surrounded by a small grouping of tents for the transient population of miners who passed through.

Peeta knew that Katniss' aunt would have her work cut out for her if she brought both families into that setting.

"She should make a trip to town," he told Katniss. "See it for herself before she makes a decision. "

Katniss nodded. "That's a good idea."

That evening after dinner, Gale found Peeta and asked him to accompany them to District 12. "My mother wants to see it," he said. "I'm not even sure where it is. I've never been there."

Peeta agreed to direct them the following morning after he was done serving breakfast. It wasn't any trouble, he needed to get more flour anyway.

The next morning, he was surprised to see that with the exception of Gale's father, who was still recovering, both families were going to visit the town. He saw that they were all dressed up a bit more than usual, as if they were going to church.

Peeta hitched a small cart up to his horse and walked alongside it as the Hawthornes and the Everdeens began the trek to town. Posy was complaining about the walk after ten minutes, so Peeta offered her a ride in the back of the cart.

Everyone was strangely quiet, which was unusual, because they were always so noisy in camp. He tried to strike up a conversation with Katniss, but she muttered something he didn't hear and then glanced quickly at her mother before moving away from him and walking in the back alongside Gale.

His face grew warm. Were they still angry with him because of what happened during the snowstorm? For crying out loud, he had kept Katniss safe. They should be thanking him, not condemning him.

By the time they got there, his leg was bothering him. Normally he rode the horse into town; today he'd walked because he didn't want to draw attention to his leg. But clearly, that had been a mistake.

"Is that it?" Posy pointed out the ramshackle buildings up ahead.

"Yep," he nodded.

He could almost hear the collective intake of breath among both families as if they were astounded that they had taken the time to dress up to visit this eyesore.

As they got closer, he pointed out the few landmarks of the town. "There's the general store and that's the saloon."

"What's that? Prim asked, her arm pointing toward the nicest building, a large, white clapboard house. It looked like the type of place where a rich person in Oregon might live.

He bit the inside of his cheek, uncertain exactly how to answer Prim. He had been pondering the answer to that question before they'd even arrived because he assumed rightly that someone in the traveling party would be sure to voice it.

"That's Effie's house," he finally said.

"She must be rich," Prim said, the awe sounding in her voice.

"I think she is successful," he murmured, looking around the group to see the reaction of the others. Clearly the two mothers seemed to have heard of Effie already, as their faces looked troubled. He caught Katniss glance at Gale quickly. He was surprised that she knew about Effie, that she seemed to share some personal information about it with her cousin. It was very curious.

"It's quiet around here," Gale's mother commented.

"It's early," Peeta reminded her. "Everyone's out looking for gold. This place is really hopping at night."

"Do you come here often then?" Katniss' mother asked.

"Only for supplies," Peeta stated. He didn't want her to think that he spent his free time at the saloon or visiting Effie's business. Not when he was interested in her daughter.

"Let's go to the general store," he suggested. It was the only place in town that would be safe for the entire family to visit. It's not like he could take them to the saloon. Anyway he came here for supplies.

Thom, the store's owner was in his early twenties. He was a short, slight man, with dark hair. He had opened the store less than six months ago.

There weren't many places that miners could obtain supplies. The biggest town was San Francisco and that was on the coast, 140 miles away. Although Dirty District 12 was located only a couple of miles away, there were other mining camps within a ten mile radius that did business with Thom, as well.

Thom's store was housed in a ramshackle building that Thom has quickly pieced together over the summer months. Before that the store had been housed in a tent.

When the group entered the building, Thom was reorganizing mining pans on a shelf. The store was so small that when everyone got inside, they could barely move. Thom looked up and caught sight of him.

"Peeta, did you bring me customers?"

Peeta grinned, and began to introduce the Hawthorne and Everdeen family members to Thom. Thom's eyes widened when he introduced Katniss. Thom glanced quickly back at Peeta. He suspected Thom had already heard all about the snowstorm and the lurid stories. Hell, by now that story had probably made the rounds in a half-dozen camps.

He shrugged and continued to introduce the others. Afterwards, he gave Thom his order for another two sacks of flour, then helped the storeowner put them into his cart. Meanwhile the others quickly looked through the store.

The variety of goods was much less than the general store they were used to in Oregon. When Thom returned inside, he told Gale's and Katniss' mothers that if they needed anything, he could try and find it for them or order it from the coast.

The two women exchanged glances with each other and frowned a bit.

"How many people live here in town?" Gale's mother asked.

Thom shook his head. "Not too many. This place isn't really much of a town in the sense of what you might be used to back home. I live here and Haymitch lives in his saloon and Effie…." His voice trailed off. "Then there's old Cray." Thom named off a dozen or so names, all clearly unrecognizable to Gale's mother.

"District 12 is more like a stopping place," Thom admitted. "Most miners live in the camps, close to their claims."

"Is there a school or a church nearby?" Gale's mother asked.

Thom looked flabbergasted. "No. There isn't any school because there aren't any children, well, except for yours." He stared at Posy and Vick for a moment, before continuing. "As for a church, well sometimes Haymitch will say a few words afterwards when there is a hanging."

"Are there many hangings?" Rory interrupted. His eyes were gleaming.

"We had one yesterday," Thom explained. "A miner got caught cheating at cards in the saloon."

"He was hung for cheating at cards?" Gale was amazed. "Isn't that rather harsh?"

"Well, he was a Mexican." Thom laughed.

An uncomfortable silence followed, however no one criticized Thom's comment. Mexicans were not popular with the white population of California territory. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which had ended the Mexican-American War had been signed only ten months earlier. Many whites were still gloating over the fact that Mexico had lost and as a result had ceded California to the United States.

"His friends took off afterwards," Thom continued. "They were talking about heading for the hills. They think there's gold in the hills, if you can believe that. Everyone knows the gold is in the riverbeds. But the Mexicans wouldn't be safe at the rivers. The Americans would run them off."

Peeta twisted his head around quickly to glance at Katniss. She had been looking at Thom as he spoke, but she turned her head to look at Peeta when Thom mentioned the miners going to the hills to look for gold. Their eyes met immediately. He could see the unspoken request in hers. _We need to get back to that cave. Soon._

He agreed. The California winter was proving to be a mild one. It was cool and overcast, but the snow hadn't returned. They should go back to the cave with a pickaxe and a shovel, before another miner or group of miners stumbled across it.

"Can I help you folks with anything?" Thom directed his question to the group.

"Do you have any candy?" Gale questioned. Thom nodded, and Gale purchased a stick of peppermint candy for everyone, handing the long sticks out carefully.

Everyone walked out of the tiny storefront and wandered down the short main street, sucking on their stick of candy. Outside the saloon sat a paunchy, middle-aged man smoking a cigar.

"Hey boy," he called out. "Did you bring me any bread?"

Peeta shook his head, pulling the peppermint stick from his mouth to speak. "Not today, Haymitch. Maybe next time."

"No whiskey for you then," Haymitch grunted.

All eyes stared at him. "So you're a whiskey drinker, Peeta," Gale smirked. "I wouldn't have guessed you for one."

"It's for my leg," Peeta admitted. "It numbs the pain."

He noticed Katniss' mother stare at him a little more carefully after his comment. He wondered if Katniss had mentioned to her mother about their shared experience on the wagon train west. Did her mother recognize him as the boy who was run over by his family's wagon?

Or maybe her mother simply thought he had a drinking problem, like half the other men in the camp.

Before leaving his home in Oregon, Peeta had never even had a drink. But his eyes had been opened on the journey on the Siskiyou Trail. Several travelers had brought spirits with them. He tasted a small cup one evening around the campfire and noticed that the pain in his leg was numbed. He'd had one the best night's sleep of his life.

When he'd arrived at the mining camp and learned that Haymitch was selling liquor to the men to bring back to the camp, he'd purchased a bottle of whiskey. He'd only used it on those nights, his leg was hurting badly. He didn't want to make a habit of it. Looking at his brother and half the men in camp, it was easy to keep that promise to himself.

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud gasp. He glanced at Prim and saw that she was staring down the road, her mouth open wide. He turned his head to see what she was looking at.

Two women, dressed in colorful garb, were making their way to the saloon. They were laughing loudly. One was small, about the same size as Katniss, with dark hair, cut short in the front to form spiky bangs. The other was a bit taller, rounder, and older. Her hair was red. The faces of both women were lined and hard. Their skin was covered with paint that had fallen into the cracks on their faces making the creases more prominent.

"Hello Haymitch," the red-haired one called.

Haymitch grunted back.

The small, dark-haired girl walked past Gale and slapped him on the shoulder. "Hello handsome," she said. "I haven't seen you in a long while."

Gale's face turned bright red. He started to sputter some kind of response, nearly choking on the peppermint stick he was sucking on, but stopped quickly as his mother swept into action.

"It's time to go children," she said grabbing at Posy and Vick.

Peeta noticed that everyone's eyes were as big as saucers when they turned away. No one spoke on the way home.

Peeta was embarrassed for Gale. It couldn't be easy to be a grown man living in a mining camp and have your entire family along for the adventure. But at least Gale's mother hadn't created much of a scene. Peeta knew that if he'd been in the same situation, his mother would have struck him.

**Author's Note: The California gold rush brought together a racially diverse population from all over the world. Among white Americans, prejudices ran high toward any group of people that was different – this included the native peoples of California, Mexicans, South Americans, and later the Chinese (who didn't come to California in big numbers until after 1850). **

**Prostitution was big business in the gold fields as there were so few women in California. Women made up less than ten percent of the total population. The vast majority of the gold miners were single men under thirty years of age.**


	7. Chapter 7 - Courting

**Chapter 7 - Courting**

When they returned, Aunt Hazelle announced that they would continue to live in the mining camp.

"I see no point in moving to District 12," she admitted. "It's not much of a town anyway."

Katniss watched her mother's face. She was nodding as well.

"Since we're staying here I think we should make an effort to make this place look more like a home than a campsite," Aunt Hazelle continued. "Gale will relocate Samuel's tent here with the other two so we can all be together."

Up to that point, Uncle Samuel had been recovering in a tent at the other end of the camp. Hazelle had been spending the nights with him there, along with Posy. Gale and his brothers had been sleeping in the tent set up near the Everdeens.

Gale and Rory made quick work of emptying their father's tent and taking it down. Uncle Samuel slowly followed after his sons as they carried the tent to its new home. Once it was up, he went inside to lie down.

"What about hunting today?" Katniss asked Rory afterward.

He glared at her. "I don't have time Katniss. I want to go to the river. I already wasted the morning traveling to town."

"Fine," she retorted. "It's our supper, too, that we hunt. Eat beans then for all I care."

Katniss stomped off to the Everdeen tent. She was so frustrated. It wasn't safe for her to do anything alone. She needed to speak with Peeta about what Thom had said today. They needed to return to the cave with the proper equipment. What if those other miners found their claim? She thought about sneaking off to talk with him when her mother came looking for her.

"Katniss Everdeen, stop lazing about. Go down to the river and get some water with Prim and Vick. We need to do the laundry."

Katniss, her sister, and her cousin carried buckets down to the river. The shoreline was filled with miners standing along the edge, a few brave souls standing a few feet out in the icy water with their metal pans, slowly tilting them from side to side. Occasionally someone would shout, "Eureka!" Sometimes the others would stop to take a look.

"I wish Mother would let me pan for gold," Vick complained. "Everyone's going to get rich except me."

They carried the water buckets back to their campsite and began the process of heating the water. Once it was hot, the scrub boards were unpacked and her mother and her aunt began their washing.

Katniss, Prim, and Vick returned to the river a second time to fill the buckets. They carried them back to the site and began to heat that water, as well. It would serve as rinse water for the clean clothes.

The sisters turned to mending, while Vick went off in search of medium-sized rocks. Aunt Hazelle wanted to make a rock boundary that would line the perimeter of their campsite.

Katniss was fixing a tear in her skirt, which was torn after she snagged it on a scraggly bush while out hunting. Prim was working on another sock with a hole in the heel.

"Whose sock is that?" Katniss asked.

"Gale's. But he's paying me," Prim added as an afterthought.

Katniss frowned. The Everdeens and the Hawthornes were family. They had helped each other out for years, never asking for anything in return. Now, since they'd arrived in California, everyone wanted to be compensated for their help, for favors that normally they would have done for each other out of simple kindness.

Katniss thought back to Peeta's comment about everyone getting greedy since gold was discovered. He was right. The gold was changing them, and not for the better.

"Do you think Gale knows that woman in town?" Prim asked.

"I don't know. He told me he'd never even been to District 12," Katniss said. "Maybe she mistook him for someone else. She didn't call out his name."

"But he turned so red."

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When Katniss finished mending the tear in her skirt, she stood up from the ground, where she'd been sitting, and stretched.

"I need to tell Sae that there won't be any fresh meat for her today," she said to Prim. Yes, she did need to do that, too, but what she wanted to do was find Peeta and ask what he thought about those miners who were looking for gold in the hills.

She put her clothing away and began to leave their campsite.

"Where are you off to?" her mother shouted. She and Hazelle were ringing the water out the laundry. Hazelle had fashioned a clothesline by stringing a rope between the trunks of two trees, and they were draping the clean, wet clothing across it. The weather was a bit warmer and hopefully the clothes would dry within a day.

"I need to tell Sae that I didn't go hunting today."

"Why not?" her mother questioned.

"Because Rory wouldn't go with me."

Kantiss noticed her mother frown and glance at Hazelle quickly.

"Come right back, then," her mother said.

She nodded and went in search of Sae.

Sae wasn't happy about it. "I depend on you girl." But there was nothing Sae could do except come up with a meatless dinner menu for the miners.

Katniss found Peeta making cornbread. He sliced it into squares as another pan cooked in the oven.

"What did you think of the town?" he asked her.

"It's not much of a place. My aunt and my mother decided we're not moving after all. We're staying here for now."

Peeta nodded. A small grin appeared on his face. "I'm glad," he said. "I'd miss you if you left."

She glanced at him for a moment and smiled shyly. She'd miss him too. Other than her family, Peeta was the only friend she had in the camp. She enjoyed talking with him everyday.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere. Besides, we're partners in a gold claim, which by the way, do you think we should go check it out before spring?"

Peeta nodded. "I was thinking the same thing after hearing what Thom said about those fellows this morning."

He didn't say anything for a while. The smell of cornbread wafted through the air. He stopped to open the oven and pull out a pan of the golden-colored bread and set it on the table. He put a second pan inside the oven and closed it.

"Do you think you could get away?" he finally asked. "I know your family doesn't want me to even accompany you hunting anymore."

Katniss frowned. It was so stupid. Why should they be punished because of other people's overactive imaginations?

"Maybe I could talk to your mother," he suggested.

Katniss wasn't sure if that was a good idea. Her mother was interested in preserving her daughter's reputation. She'd never agree unless…

"The only way she'd agree to letting us spend any time together is if you asked permission to court me," Katniss joked. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she wished she'd never said them. Her face turned bright pink. Peeta was only her friend. Why would she even suggest such a thing?

He looked at her in surprise. "Is that what you want?"

Katniss shook her head in embarrassment. "I'm sorry I don't know why I even said it."

He looked down, focusing on cutting the cornbread into squares, not saying anything for a while.

Katniss wondered if she should leave. She'd said too much already.

"It could work," Peeta finally said lifting his head. His blue eyes stared at her intently. "It might even stop some of the stories going around."

Katniss flinched at his acknowledgement about the stories about the two of them. She wanted to ask him what he'd heard, but she didn't think that it would be proper.

He continued speaking. "Courting doesn't necessarily lead to anything Katniss. Sometimes things don't work out. My older brother courted a girl who threw him off for someone else. It does happen. I'd never force you into something…" His voice trailed off.

"Peeta, you're my friend," Katniss said. "I don't want to hurt your chances to meet someone for real."

"Don't worry about me." He smiled. "We can call it off once we've tapped out the gold claim, if you want," he suggested.

Katniss thought it over. It sounded like a sensible plan to her. They were just friends. Pretending to be courting would improve her life in so many ways. Besides getting the opportunity to mine the gold claim, she could probably stop hunting with Rory and go back to hunting with Peeta, maybe even occasionally get to leave the camp for a walk or something.

"How soon can you talk to my mother?" she asked.

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Peeta spoke with her mother that evening. Afterwards Katniss' mother spoke with her at length inside the tent warning her of the importance of keeping her behavior modest and respectable while with Peeta.

Katniss' face dropped when her mother explained that courting didn't mean she could spend all her free time alone with him, she'd need a chaperone along with them.

"Who?"

Her mother frowned.

Katniss knew that was the problem. Everyone was busy.

"I think Vick could accompany you," her mother finally said. "I'll talk to Hazelle and Samuel about it."

Take along her ten-year-old cousin! How in the world would that work? And would Vick charge her for his services as a chaperone?

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Everything was arranged by the next day. Katniss could go hunting with Peeta again, as long as Vick was there too. The Hawthorne family had been quite pleased to hear that Peeta had asked to court Katniss. Apparently they were embarrassed about the stories going around about their niece.

Even Gale made some comment about maybe everything will die down now. Rory, of course was thrilled. He didn't like hunting at all because it cut into the time he could be panning for gold.

Prim had jumped for joy when she heard. "When is the wedding Katniss?" she squealed.

Katniss shook her head. She didn't want to tell her sister it was a pretend courtship – that she and Peeta had no romantic feelings for each other. Instead, she just smiled and shook her head.

"One step at a time, little duck."

Katniss thought Vick would be upset about having to accompany her and Peeta, but surprisingly the young boy was excited. He had been bored in the camp. He had been spending most of his days helping his mother with housekeeping chores or keeping his father company because his mother said he was too young to stand at the river and pan for gold. Now, he would get to leave the camp for a couple of hours each day to go hunting with Katniss and Peeta.

Hunting the next day proved quite interesting for Katniss. Vick, like Rory, was a talker. But he wasn't interested in talking with Katniss. Instead, he latched onto Peeta and never shut up. He told Peeta about the rock border he was making around the perimeter of the campsite. Before their outing was over, Peeta had agreed to bring his horse and cart the next day so Vick could pick up rocks along the way and haul them back to camp.

Katniss had hoped she'd be able to talk with Peeta about hiking out to the cave, but with Vick around they had no time to speak privately at all. After she dropped off the game with Sae, she was finally able to talk with him for a few minutes near the cook stove.

"I'll bring a pick and a shovel in the cart tomorrow," he said. "We can get out to the foothills faster with a horse anyway."

Katniss was pleased that Peeta was thinking ahead. They would have to think of some story to tell Vick tomorrow when they went to the cave. But Peeta was smart, and Vick liked him. He could surely thing of something.

After dinner, Peeta appeared at their campfire. Katniss was initially surprised to see him there, but then she remembered that they were courting now. So it wasn't strange that he would visit with her family in the evenings.

She didn't get to spend any time with him though, because he was immediately made the center of attention by the Hawthorne family. First Vick had to show him the rock perimeter he'd been creating around the campsite. Then Gale, asked him to play cards. Uncle Samuel was feeling much better and he joined the game for a few hands. By the time Peeta left, Katniss had barely spoken a few words with him.

"You'd think Peeta was courting Gale," Katniss' mother said inside their tent that evening.

"They wouldn't let him alone," Katniss fumed. He was her friend, not theirs.

"But you went hunting together today," Prim countered.

"Yes, but Vick was along."

Katniss' mother laughed at the situation. Then she launched into some story about when Katniss' father courted her. The main point of her tale was to emphasize that young men who were courting had to, in essence, woo the girl's entire family, as well.

Katniss listened half-heartedly because her mother's tale didn't compare in any way to her and Peeta. Her mother's courtship had been a love match. Her relationship with Peeta could best be defined as a business relationship between friends. It wasn't going to end with a marriage.

**Author's Note: Courting in the mid-19****th**** century was a way for a couple to get to know each other better. The man would ask permission of the woman's family to court her. It was taken more seriously than what we call dating, because there was a strong emphasis on the ultimate goal of marriage. **


	8. Chapter 8 - New Friends

**Chapter 8 – New Friends**

After Peeta had finished serving the miners breakfast and cleaned up, he hitched the small cart to his horse. He had put a pick, and shovel into the back of it. He packed some food as well, biscuits and some dried fruit. He hid the tools under the cover of a blanket. If they got to the cave quickly, they could spend several hours there before heading back.

Katniss and Vick met him near the site where the horses grazed. Vick agreed to ride in the back of the small cart, while Katniss rode with Peeta atop the horse. Adding an extra rider to the horse, who was also pulling the cart was a heavy load, but they only had to travel a couple of miles.

As they rode slowly toward the cave, Peeta marveled at the position in which he found himself. He never would have thought that Katniss would suggest that he court her. When he had offered to speak to her mother, he'd simply meant that maybe he and Katniss should tell her mother about the gold claim they shared.

He knew that she thought of him as a friend – she'd said as much to him - but he didn't think her feelings were any stronger. While that wasn't much to go on, he knew it was something that could develop over time. And time was on his side for now, at least.

As for him, he'd had a crush on her ever since she first arrived in the mining camp, - hell probably since they crossed the plains when he was a child - but ever since that night they'd spent in the cave he couldn't stop thinking about the way she had leaned into him when she slept so peacefully. He hoped he wasn't being foolish, that he didn't end up like his older brother whose heart had been broken.

Rye had called him stupid when Peeta told him about the courtship. "If you're looking for a woman, go visit Effie's place," he guffawed. "It's a lot less bother."

Katniss was sitting so close to him now on the horse. He ached to put his arms around her waist and pull her closer, but he knew he needed to take things slowly. She was very reserved and he didn't want to overwhelm her.

As they got closer to the foothills, he pulled on the reins to slow the horse.

"Does this terrain look familiar to you?" he leaned forward to speak into her ear. Katniss turned her head around slightly. It was awkward sitting so close. He had to use all his effort not to nuzzle the side of her neck.

"Not really," she replied. "We should dismount. Maybe it will look more familiar if we're on the ground."

Peeta climbed down from the horse and helped her dismount.

Vick hopped out of the back of the wagon. "Are we hunting here?" he asked.

"In a bit," Peeta explained. "We're going to lead the horse for a while on foot. You can stay in the cart if you want."

Vick shook his head. "No, it's too bumpy riding in the cart. I'll walk."

Peeta led the horse and cart for at least a quarter mile before the ground got so rocky that he had to stop and tie the horse to a tree. Katniss and Vick walked alongside.

Vick seemed overjoyed as he surveyed the landscape. "There are lots of good-sized rocks around here." He ran to one and picked it up, and placed it in the back of the cart. He had noticed Peeta's pick and shovel under the blanket and grabbed at the pick.

"Why do you need a pick?" Peeta questioned.

"To pry out some of the rocks," Vick said. He immediately set to work, trying to dig a rock from the cold earth.

Meanwhile Peeta and Katniss stood still, scanning the hillside for the cave. Peeta was looking for the pile of rocks that Katniss had stacked up near the cave entrance.

"Is that it?" Katniss asked, pointing at what appeared as a shadow in the hillside.

"Only one way to find out," he said. He started walking toward it.

Katniss went to the back of the cart and pulled out her bow and arrows before following him. Walking briskly, she quickly overtook Peeta who was slowed down because of his limp.

"Wait up," he called, as she got ahead of him.

She turned back to look at him impatiently.

"There might be a bear inside," he explained.

"I already told you that bears start hibernating in the fall. There's no way there's a bear inside our cave."

He caught up to her while she was speaking and together they closed in on the cave's entrance.

"This isn't the right cave," Peeta said, as they got closer. "The pile of rocks is gone."

Ignoring his comments, Katniss pushed her way forward into the entrance, then slowly began to back out, grabbing an arrow from the quiver that hung along her side and nocking it in her bow. She pointed the arrow into the cave.

Peeta froze in place. "What's wrong?"

"This is the wrong cave," she whispered. "Walk slowly backwards. We need to get out of here."

When they were away from the cave opening a goodly distance, Katniss turned to Peeta. "You were right, there _was_ a bear in that cave. But it wasn't _our_ cave. We need to keep looking."

Peeta frowned. If Katniss had gotten hurt, he didn't know how he could explain it to her family. He didn't know how he would live with himself. What was she thinking?

"You need to be more careful. You could have been attacked by that bear."

"Attacked by a sleeping bear, Peeta?" She sounded like a teacher correcting a student. "When a bear goes into hibernation, it's near impossible to wake it up."

He didn't want a lecture from her about bears. Clearly she knew more than him about animals in the wilderness with all the hunting she'd done. He'd spent all his life shut up in his parent's bakery. But he'd heard stories. He'd grown up surrounded by the wilderness of the Oregon landscape. He wasn't an idiot. He knew that people could get hurt, could get killed even.

He wished he'd brought a rifle with them. If she had dropped that bow and arrow, he couldn't pick it up to defend her because he didn't even know how to use it.

He grabbed at her arm to get her attention. "Don't you understand, I want to you be safe. I care about you."

Katniss jumped back as if his hand were on fire. A look of confusion crossed her face, before it turned into a scowl.

"I can take care of myself Peeta." She was angry.

He felt his chest tighten. How had his expression of concern so quickly turned into some kind of argument between the two of them? But he didn't have time to wonder because the next thing they both heard was Vick shouting.

Peeta and Katniss jerked their heads around in the direction of the boy's cries. He was calling their names loudly. Katniss went off running. Peeta followed as quickly as he could. Inwardly he cursed himself again for not bringing a rifle with him.

When he caught up with Katniss, she was speaking with a man not much taller than himself. The man appeared to be around thirty years old. He had jet-black hair and dark brown eyes.

Immediately Peeta wondered if he were one of the miners from Mexico that Thom had spoke about, one of the friends of the man who had been hanged for cheating at cards in town a few days earlier. Fortunately, the man appeared to be unarmed.

"He's just looking for rocks to edge our campsite," Katniss was explaining to the stranger.

Near Vick was a small pile of medium-sized rocks he had collected.

The man looked as if he didn't believe a word Katniss was saying.

Peeta couldn't blame him. It was an odd thing to be doing. Miners were concerned with striking it rich, not decorating a muddy campsite with a rock border.

The man looked away from Katniss when he saw Peeta approach.

"This is my claim," the man explained to Peeta. The man spoke English clearly, but with an accent. "This boy is jumping my claim." He didn't appear angry, in fact, Peeta thought he looked worried. Maybe he thought that more people would appear, maybe drive him off or kill him. The man kept eyeing Katniss' bow suspiciously.

He pointed out wooden sticks he had posted in the ground over a fairly large area. Peeta nodded.

"Vick, he's right," Peeta said. "You can't dig here."

The boy looked at him angrily. "Gold is at the river. Not buried in the ground."

"Not true," the stranger interrupted. "There's gold everywhere, in the ground, in the mountains, and in the rivers."

"It's in the ground?" Vick's face brightened. "Have you found it in the ground?"

The man nodded. "Not at this site. Not just yet."

The man turned to Peeta. "My name is Jaime Rodriguez." He put his hand forward to shake Peeta's hand.

Peeta shook Jaime's hand, then introduced Katniss and Vick to the man. The man stared at Katniss for a while, long enough for Peeta to grow uncomfortable. He could see Katniss turning pink. Awkwardly, he put his arm around her waist. He felt Katniss stiffen at his touch but he didn't let go. Immediately the man's eyes dropped away.

"I was just heating some coffee. Would you care for some?" Jaime asked.

Peeta considered the offer. The man was trying to befriend them. It certainly couldn't hurt to have friends. Unlike Thom, he didn't think it much mattered where the man was born. He was just another miner, like all the others.

Peeta nodded. "We brought some food. We can share it."

Jaime smiled broadly, and Peeta told Vick to return to the cart and bring back the satchel of food he'd packed.

When Vick returned with the food, the three of them followed Jaime to his campsite, which was close by. There was a tent pitched there, near to the campfire. While Jaime prepared the coffee, they sat down on the ground next to the fire. Vick handed the satchel to Peeta and he opened it. He pulled out the biscuits and dried fruit. Jaime handed him a plate to set it on.

Jaime was pouring the coffee into tin cups, when they heard a shrill cry from the tent.

"What was that?" Vick asked.

Jaime handed Katniss and Peeta cups of steaming coffee before excusing himself to go inside.

Katniss glanced at Peeta. "I thought he was alone," she mouthed.

Peeta took a sip of coffee. He gave her a smile, hoping to reassure her. But he was a bit panicked, as well. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to visit a stranger's campsite with Katniss and Vick. He was responsible for their safety.

Jaime returned quickly though, carrying a small child who appeared to be about two years old. "This is my son Pepe," he said. He turned to Peeta. "Would your wife go inside and visit with my wife?"

Katniss flinched. "We're not married," she responded quickly.

Jaime looked at Katniss carefully as if he were weighing her comment. Then, ignoring it, he motioned. "Come," he said.

Katniss set down her coffee and slowly got up giving Peeta an annoyed glance. She followed Jaime into the tent.

Peeta noticed Vick grabbing a second biscuit. "Only one," he told the boy. "We need to share."

Vick frowned, and then put the biscuit back on the plate, grabbing a slice of dried apple, instead.

From inside the tent, Peeta could hear Katniss talking quietly with the woman.

Jaime returned quickly without the child. He poured a cup of coffee for himself, and then grabbed at a biscuit, before he spoke.

"My wife's brother was hung three days ago," Jaime explained.

Peeta nodded. "We heard about it."

"He is…was a fool," Jaime explained. "But he was my wife's only brother. Her heart is broken."

Peeta understood about foolish brothers. After all he had one, too.

"Who is this woman Katniss that you travel with, if she is not your wife?" Jaime questioned.

Peeta wasn't sure if Jaime would understand the idea of courting that Americans practiced. He didn't know what the practices were in Mexico for couples. He tried to explain. "We're courting," he told Jaime. "It's a way to get to know each other before marriage."

"So you are getting married?"

Peeta nodded, although he really didn't know if they ever would. He only hoped so.

"And the boy?" Jaime nodded to Vick, who was sitting with a stick making patterns in the dirt.

"He is her cousin. He acts as a chaperone."

Jaime laughed. "A child is your chaperone." He looked amazed. "My wife's abuela… that is, her grandmother was our chaperone. It is easier to fool a child, no?"

Jaime laughed loudly, then began questioning Peeta about where they lived. Peeta explained that they were residents of the Dirty District 12 mining camp and that they had merely been out on a hunting excursion. He wasn't going to mention anything about the cave. Besides, Vick was sitting beside them.

Jaime told Peeta that he, his wife, child, brother-in-law, and a few friends had traveled overland from Sonora, Mexico, to look for gold. They had been gold miners in Sonora and were very experienced. After his brother-in-law had been hung, their party had split up. Jaime had left with his wife and child to mine alone because his wife had blamed the friends for her brother's death.

Katniss left the tent after a while and came out to the fire. She didn't say anything, simply picked up her coffee and drank down the cold brew, then ate a biscuit. When she had finished, Peeta nodded toward her and stood up.

"We should go," he said to Jaime. "It's late and we need to be getting back to our camp."

Katniss and Vick got up quickly. They all said their goodbyes and walked to the horse and cart.

"We really do have to get back and you haven't done any hunting yet," he said to Katniss.

She frowned. Peeta guessed she was upset that they hadn't been able to even find the cave today.

Vick sat on top of the horse as Peeta led it slowly back to camp. They stopped every so often, as Katniss took the time to hunt. She didn't get much though, only four squirrels.

"How was Jaime's wife?" Peeta asked Katniss, as they walked together.

"Very sad," Katniss said. "Her name is Marîa. She doesn't speak much English. Her brother was the one that was hung in District 12 the other day."

Peeta nodded. "Jaimie told me."

The conversation died out. When they could see the tents of their camp in the distance, Katniss spoke. "I wish we had found the cave today."

"There's always tomorrow," Peeta said, as they arrived home to Dirty District 12.

**Author's Note: Unlike the Americans miners who were predominantly single males, miners from Mexico tended to travel with their entire families. The miners from Sonora, Mexico, were experienced gold miners who had better results than their American counterparts.**


	9. Chapter 9 - Opportunities

**Chapter 9 – Opportunities**

That evening, Peeta brought his brother Rye along with him when he visited Katniss' family at their campfire. Katniss had never actually been introduced to him before, even though she had been friends with Peeta for a while, even though they were now courting. She knew the brothers shared a tent, but Peeta didn't talk about Rye much. She wondered if they were close.

Rye was a taller, less muscular version of Peeta, but not half as good-looking Katniss decided. She knew he was only a couple of years older than Peeta, but he looked even older than that, as if life in the mining camp had physically and mentally wore him down.

The Hawthornes welcomed Rye as if he were their long-lost relative, though. Gale pulled out the deck of cards and started to deal. Katniss sat nearby and watched the men play. After a quick game, her Uncle Samuel called for her to sing for them.

She didn't like singing for people, even though she knew her soprano voice was strong and clear. At least that's what everyone had told her the few times she had attended church services held by the traveling preacher in Oregon.

She tried to make an excuse, but her mother, who sat knitting nearby insisted upon it.

"Has Peeta heard you sing?" she asked her daughter.

Katniss shook her head and blushed. She noticed Peeta smiling at her encouragingly. She stood up, but turned her back to everyone, then started to sing.

_The morn was fair, the skies were clear, _

_No breath came o'er the sea, _

_When Mary left her Highland cot, _

_And wander'd forth with me; _

After those few lines, she turned around to face her family and continued.

_Tho' flower's deck'd the mountain's side, _

_And fragrance fill'd the vale, _

_By far the sweetest flower there, _

_Was the Rose of Allandale, _

_Was the Rose of Allandale, the Rose of Allandale, _

_By far the sweetest flower there, _

_Was the Rose of Allandale._

She noticed that other miners from the neighboring tents had left their card games to come closer to stand and listen. She was drawing a crowd now. But her eyes were on Peeta. His mouth hung open, as if astounded. She hoped he liked her voice. She continued.

_Where'er I wander'd east or west,_

_Tho' fate began to lour,_

_A solace still was she to me,_

_In sorrow's lonely hour._

_When tempests lash'd our gallant bark,_

_And rent her shiv'ring sail,_

_One maiden form_ _withstood the storm,_

_'Twas the Rose of Allandale,_

_'Twas the Rose of Allandale, the Rose of Allandale,_

_One maiden form withstood the storm,_

_'Twas the Rose of Allandale._

_And when my fever'd lips were parched_

_On Afric's burning sand,_

_She whisper'd hopes of happiness,_

_And tales of distant land. _

_My life had been a wilderness,_

_Unblest by fortune's gale,_

_Had fate not link'd my lot to hers,_

_The Rose of Allandale,_

_The Rose of Allandale, the Rose of Allandale,_

_Had fate not link'd my lot to hers,_

_The Rose of Allandale._

Her voice broke a bit at the end and her eyes filled with tears. Her mind had flitted back to her father who used to sing this song quite regularly.

She finished to whoops and claps from her family and the miners who had joined to listen. Immediately she dropped her head and fiddled with her hands.

"More, more," she heard the miners shout.

But she didn't want to sing anymore. She was tired. It had been a long day with their failed search for the cave and their meeting with Jaime and his family.

She looked up and shook her head. She saw Peeta grinning at her and clapping with the others. She waved shyly at him, and then walked into her family's tent.

Her mother followed her inside. "Katniss, go out there and sing another song. Your voice is so beautiful."

She shook her head. She was near tears now. Singing that song had opened the floodgate to memories of her father who had a fine tenor voice. He often sang around the house and while working on the farm. He'd taught Katniss _The Rose of Allandale _and many other popular songs as well. Suddenly she missed him and her old life in Oregon so much that she could feel her heart physically ache in her chest.

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It was raining hard the next day, so Katniss didn't go hunting. The water was coming down so fast the ground couldn't absorb it. The camp began to resemble a mud hole. No one went to the river to pan for gold because it wasn't safe, the water was rising and the current had picked up. This was winter in California apparently – cooler temperatures and lots of rain.

The pelting rain mirrored her mood – downcast. She and her mother and Prim stayed inside their tent knitting. But after a few hours, Katniss began to feel trapped. There had been days like this in Oregon, of course, but they'd been inside a dry house, not a dimly-lit, leaky tent.

"I hate it here," Prim finally burst out, setting her knitting aside. "I hate California."

Katniss set her knitting down as well. She was attempting to make a hat, as a Christmas gift for Peeta.

"It's okay Prim, this rain is making us all a little gloomy."

"It's more than that," Prim whined. "I want to go back to Oregon. I want to go to school. I miss my friends."

"We can't go back," their mother said softly. "We're broke."

"What do you mean?" Katniss questioned.

Her mother lifted her head from the scarf she was knitting and looked at her daughters carefully. "Your father had nothing to his name when he died. In fact, he owed money to some of the miners. I had to take the little we had when we arrived to pay them back. Hazelle's been very kind about sharing food with us, probably because of the game you've brought to the table, Katniss, but we're going to have to contribute more to the expenses soon."

"I have some gold from hunting," Katniss said. She thought about telling them about her gold claim, but she was beginning to lose hope after yesterday. It might be spring before she and Peeta even found the cave. It didn't seem right to get their hopes up. Besides then she'd have to explain about her courtship with Peeta. She didn't think her mother would be happy about being tricked into giving her consent.

"I have money, too," Prim said.

But when the two sisters added everything up, it didn't amount to much.

"I understand your frustration girls, but we're going to be living in a tent in California for a while, at least until we can save up enough to leave. I can't earn a living as a midwife in a place where there are so few women. But Hazelle and I are taking in laundry. That's been a help."

"Katniss doesn't care since she getting married anyway," Prim stated. "I'll bet Peeta's saved up lots of money from feeding the miners."

"Prim, that's rude," Katniss reprimanded. "We're only courting. Courting doesn't necessarily lead to marriage," she said echoing Peeta's words.

"He wants to marry you," Prim said. "I see the way he looks at you."

Katniss flushed. That wasn't true at all. In fact now that they were courting, she had to share Peeta with everyone else. He paid entirely too much attention to Vick and all her Hawthorne relatives, in her opinion. She knew he was only being polite, but still…

She couldn't stop thinking about their horseback ride yesterday. They'd been sitting so close, she could feel the heat from his body radiating onto her back. When he put his mouth next to her ear to speak, she had felt shivers run down her back. The memory of it was almost as good as the night they slept so close together in the cave.

Then, they'd gotten into that strange exchange after she'd discovered the bear, almost an argument really, when he had said he cared for her. She had to wonder - what exactly did he mean?

Yes, they were courting. But it wasn't real. She wasn't going to marry him. Prim didn't know what she was talking about.

As Katniss fretted over Peeta, Prim was already onto another topic. "I finished the scarf for Aunt Hazelle. Now I want to make a little hat for that baby you met yesterday."

Katniss startled. What was Prim talking about? But then she remembered that she had told her mother and sister about meeting Jaime and his wife and child yesterday. She figured she might as well, because she was sure Vick would give a detailed account of the encounter to his family. After all, being a Hawthorne he was prone to excessive talking.

"Pepe's not a baby," Katniss said. "He looks to be about two years old."

"Better make it a bit big Prim," her mother said. "Because children grow."

Katniss had been relieved her mother hadn't fussed about her and Peeta befriending the Mexican miner and his family. She imagined her aunt and uncle would be less kind in their response. In fact, she was sure her aunt would be talking to her soon about staying away from Mexicans.

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The rain lasted for two full days before the sun returned. Katniss was glad to leave the tent. It had been torture to be trapped inside for so long. But her time had been spent productively. She'd finished the hat for Peeta, well, actually Prim and her mother had taken turns and finished it, after they ripped out half of it trying to fix the mistakes Katniss had made. Also, Prim had knit a cap for Pepe.

She was eager to go hunting, maybe they could continue their search for the cave. But Peeta told her the ground was too muddy to take the horse and cart out and she knew it was too far for him to walk with his leg. In fact, his limp seemed even more pronounced, as if his leg had stiffened up over the past few days.

Instead they, accompanied by Vick, stayed close to camp. Katniss was able to get a lot of game. Like her, the small animals were tired of being cooped up in their dens and were venturing out, as well. Unfortunately some of those same creatures wouldn't be returning to their home that evening.

The mud stayed around for days. Once the ground had dried up a bit, Katniss joined her mother and Prim, as well as her Hawthorne relatives as they hiked to town to shop for Christmas. Even Gale and Rory took a break from their time at the river. Only Uncle Samuel stayed behind. Although he was much better now, he was not ready for the four-mile round trip. Once they arrived, everyone took turns going into Thom's tiny store, while the others waited outside.

"The prices are so high," her aunt fussed when she exited the store, allowing Rory to go inside to make his purchases. Aunt Hazelle had put her items into a small satchel that she carried tightly in her arms.

Katniss frowned. She still needed to get something for Prim and her mother. Finally, when it was her turn inside, she looked around in desperation. There wasn't much left. She ended up buying her mother a skein of white yarn. For Prim, she chose some candies made from maple syrup. She also picked up a handful of peppermint sticks.

When Thom announced the total cost of everything, she winced. Her aunt was right. These items would be far cheaper in Oregon. She paid Thom, tucking her purchases into the deep pockets of her father's leather hunting jacket before hurrying outside.

She joined the rest of her relatives, who were huddled in a group chatting. She nodded to Prim and said it was her turn to shop now.

Haymitch was standing in front of his saloon smoking a cigar. As soon as he saw Katniss join them, he walked over to the group.

"I hear you can sing sweetheart," he addressed her. The others stopped their conversation to stare at the saloon owner.

Katniss blushed. How did he know about her singing? But of course she knew how. The same way everyone had heard about the night she and Peeta had spent in the cave – from the big mouth gossips of Dirty District 12.

"I have an idea I'd like to propose," the older man stated. He pulled the cigar from his mouth and puffed smoke into her face. "If you come and sing in my saloon on New Year's Eve, I'll pay you $200."

Katniss' coughed loudly. It wasn't the offer of money, she was choking on, it was Haymitch's cigar smoke.

While she was attempting to catch her breath, she heard a quick gasp, then a strangled scream. It was her aunt. "Sing in a saloon, you must be joking," Aunt Hazelle spit out.

"That's a lot of money for singing," Katniss said. She eyed Haymitch suspiciously.

"I can bring in more business with your voice, that is, if it's as good as they say," he stated. "The miners here miss the simple things from home. A pretty girl with a sweet voice being one of them."

Katniss didn't answer right away. She thought it over. Two hundred dollars for a night's work. It was better than panning for gold. It was like an answer to prayer.

"What exactly would this job entail?" she asked.

In the background she could hear her mother pleading, "no, Katniss."

Meanwhile, her aunt tried to catch her eye, most like to persuade her change her mind, but Katniss deliberately focused her attention onto Haymitch.

"The saloon opens after dark," Haymitch explained. "You'd need to stay the entire evening and sing. You'd get breaks of course."

"Do you want to hear me sing first?"

Haymitch nodded, and Katniss sang the refrain from _The Rose of Allandale_.

Haymitch smiled, then nodded again. "Do we have a deal, then?"

"Yes," Katniss said to Haymitch. "I'll sing for you on New Year's Eve."

Haymitch walked inside his saloon, while Katniss turned toward her aunt and her mother, waiting for them to argue with her.

But Prim walked up just then and tapped their mother on the arm. "Your turn in the store, Mama." Katniss' mother glanced at her quickly with a look of sadness, before turning in the direction of the Thom's business.

"I can't believe it," Aunt Hazelle sputtered a moment later. "Whatever are you thinking? Planning to sing in a saloon to entertain a bunch of drunken miners."

She turned to Gale. "You need to accompany Katniss to that event to be sure that she's safe."

Gale looked back at her, a surprised look crossing his face. He was amazed that his mother was ordering him to spend New Year's Eve in the saloon. "Of course, mother," he said grinning.

Katniss caught his grin and smirked back at him. Gale was probably the happiest person of all about this turn of events. Because while Katniss was glad to have the opportunity to earn some money, she was terrified about singing in front of so many people.

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There were fewer miners in Dirty District 12 now. Many had left during the cold, rainy weather. They'd headed for the bigger towns closer to the coast, some even going as far away as San Francisco. For the miners who were sitting out the winter in the camp, the Christmas holidays were a time of rest and relaxation.

Christmas Eve was sunny with clear blue skies and puffy white clouds. Prim joined Katniss, Peeta, and Vick as they went hunting that morning. Their real destination, however, lay at Jaime's campsite. They didn't tell Vick about the planned visit to the miner until after they had left the camp. Katniss didn't want her aunt to find out about it and raise a fuss.

Peeta had hitched his horse and cart to bring Jaime's family some gifts – the cap Prim knitted, a couple of loaves of Christmas bread Peeta had baked that contained nuts and raisins and was covered with a drizzle of sugar, and some peppermint sticks Katniss had contributed. The bow and arrows and game bag were also taken along. Vick rode in the back of the cart, while Peeta was on the horse.

Katniss and Prim rode together on a second horse, borrowed from the Hawthornes. Along the way, Katniss shot a rabbit and decided to give that to Jaime's family, as well.

It took a while to find the campsite, and for a moment Katniss worried that maybe Jaime and his family had picked up and moved as a result of the horrific rainstorms that had plagued the area.

But eventually they located the family. When they stumbled upon the campsite, Marîa was out of the tent now, doing the family's laundry. Jaime sat nearby, holding his son on his lap. He startled when Peeta called out his name and wished him a "Happy Christmas," but a big smile crossed his face when he saw Katniss holding the dead rabbit and Prim carrying the loaves of bread.

Marîa put some coffee over the fire to heat and when she finally sat down to join them, Prim handed her the hat she'd made for Pepe, and Katniss gave her the peppermint sticks. She grinned at them, and immediately put the hat onto the boy's head. It fit perfectly. Katniss noticed Prim breathe a sigh of relief.

When the coffee was hot, Marîa poured it into the only three cups she had, and passed it out Peeta, Katniss and Prim. Then, Jaime cut the bread and they all had a slice.

"Did you find any gold in the ground?" Vick asked, as they munched on the bread.

Jaime nodded. "I'll show you. He put his hand into his pocket and pulled out a small, marble-sized nugget. He handed it to Vick to take a look.

The boy gazed at it intently, turning it over in his hand, before giving it back to Jaime. "Do you think I could find some in the ground, too?"

Jaime nodded. "I don't see why not. The rain is washing it to the surface. Just look somewhere else, not on my site." He laughed afterwards, indicating that he was teasing Vick.

After more conversation, Peeta stood up. "We need to get going," he said. "There's still hunting to be done."

Everyone said their goodbyes. Prim hugged Marîa. Marîa turned to hug Katniss, but she stiffened when the woman threw her arms about her. Katniss simply wasn't comfortable hugging anyone outside of her family.

"It's so nice to visit other people outside the camp," Prim concluded, as they rode back to camp. "It reminds me of home."

"This is our home now," Vick shouted from the back of the cart.

**Author Note: Lyrics for **_**The Rose of Allandale**_** were written by Charles Jeffreys and the music was written by Sidney Nelson. It was a popular song in the 1840s. **

**With a captive audience of bored miners, any kind of entertainment thrived during the Gold Rush. The headliners of the day—Lola Montez, Edwin Booth, and Lotta Crabtree—gathered huge audiences as they traveled throughout the mining camps singing and giving dramatic readings. They earned a tidy profit for their work.**


	10. Chapter 10 - One Step Closer

**Chapter 10 – One Step Closer**

Peeta and Sae planned a big breakfast on Christmas morning for the miners that included pancakes stuffed with dried apples and drizzled with sugar, fried potatoes, gingerbread, and bacon. As a special surprise, Peeta drove the horse and cart into town late in the afternoon on Christmas Eve to get some milk to make hot chocolate.

Rumor had it that the women who worked for Effie took baths in the stuff to soften their skin. Peeta didn't know if that was true. But he did know that Effie had two cows in a shed behind her house and occasionally sold the milk they provided.

He'd heard so much about Effie and her business, but had never met her. He didn't know quite what to expect when he knocked on her door. A short, pasty-faced, blonde-haired girl wearing a simple calico dress opened it and asked him to step inside. After he'd introduced himself and asked for Effie, she excused herself and went upstairs.

Peeta found himself in a small entryway that looked into a typical parlor. There was a long sofa, and two high-backed chairs facing it. A few side tables were placed around the room. A piano was located on one wall. A pine tree stood in the corner, decorated with paper lanterns and bits of silver foil.

Overall, it was a very pretty and welcoming sight, not what Peeta expected at all. It reminded him a bit of home, only with much grander furnishings. Effie arrived shortly. She looked to be about thirty. She was wearing a gray dress. Her white-blonde hair was piled high on her head, into an almost tower-like structure. "Delly said you wanted to see me," she questioned.

Peeta explained that he wanted to purchase some milk to make hot chocolate for the miners on Christmas morning. Effie smiled and told him to go outside to the shed behind the house and Delly would help him with the milk.

When Peeta arrived at the shed, Delly was already there. She handed Peeta a bucket and a stool.

"You came at exactly the right time to milk the cows," she said.

"I have to milk them?" Peeta stepped back. "I've never done that before."

Delly laughed. "It's easy." She sat down on the stool, positioning the bucket underneath the cow's udder. She grabbed one of the cow's teats, clamping it between her extended thumb and first finger, and then squeezed. A slow thin trickle of milk came out and dripped into the bucket.

"You make it look so easy," Peeta said.

"It is, you try it now."

Delly stood up and moved to the side so Peeta could sit down.

He tried to imitate Delly's hand motions, but the milk didn't come out.

"You're too gentle," she said. "You need to be firm. Maintain your grip on the base of the teat or the milk will flow back up into the udder," she warned.

He gave it another try pulling the cow's teat, but still nothing.

"Land sakes Peeta, squeeze, not pull," Delly reprimanded him. "Ladies don't like their teats to be pulled."

Peeta gulped quickly, and Delly laughed as his face turned a bright shade of red.

But he took her advice and squeezed the teat firmly until a steady stream of milk flowed out. After a bit, he moved to the next teat. His hand was getting tired. He opened and closed it a few times to work out a cramp.

"You can change hands," Delly said. "It's allowed."

It took a long time, but finally between the two of them, Peeta and Delly managed to milk both cows.

Delly helped him carry the milk to the cart.

"I need to pay Effie," Peeta said.

"You can pay my aunt when you bring the buckets back," Delly said. She smiled at him then, batting her eyes a bit. "I've never seen you around here before."

"Nope," he mumbled, before quickly climbing onto the horse to travel back to Dirty District 12.

On the trip home he pondered why Katniss had ever agreed to sing in Haymitch's saloon.

Peeta had only been to the saloon once, when he'd first arrived in camp, and it had been some night. As the evening progressed and the miners got more and more drunk, their behavior worsened. Loud curses, fistfights, tables overturned, gunfire, vile behavior by Effie's girls – hell, it had been quite entertaining in some ways. But not something he wanted Katniss to experience.

She had a beautiful voice – that was true –but she had no idea what she was in for. He wished she had never agreed to do it. He was amazed that her mother was allowing it. If he were engaged to Katniss, he would do everything in his power to discourage her; if they were married he would outright forbid it.

But they were only friends who were courting and apparently that didn't carry any weight. He guessed that she had some reservations though, because she wasn't the one who told him about it. Vick had told him and when he looked to Katniss for confirmation she had nodded, then quickly changed the subject.

But he still had a week to change her mind. And if he couldn't do that, he was going to be by her side that evening. No one was going to separate them. He needed to keep her safe.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Christmas day was sunny and dry as well. After cooking and serving a large and leisurely breakfast, Peeta finished cleaning up, then made his way to the Katniss' campsite bringing them some of the hot chocolate he had made. His brother Rye was already there playing cards with Samuel, Gale and Rory. Rye, who had called Peeta a fool for courting Katniss, was taking full advantage of his brother's relationship to be part of a family setting.

Peeta guessed in his own way, Rye, too, was homesick. Visiting with another family helped to combat it. Beside, there was nothing Rye liked better than playing cards. And when he played with the Hawthornes he didn't have to worry about losing money, because the Hawthornes didn't gamble. At least not with Hazelle around. She was very strict about it.

Peeta wanted to go somewhere with Katniss to give his gift to her, but he didn't want a chaperone along. Fortunately Katniss' mother seemed to understand. "Why don't the two of you take a walk," she suggested.

"Just a moment," Katniss hopped up, ran into the tent, and exited less than a minute later. She pulled her hand quickly from her pocket.

They slowly walked out of the camp in the direction of the hills.

"It feels strange not to have my bow with me."

"It feels strange not to have Vick along."

Katniss laughed. "He's bad. But Rory is far worse."

"That's hard to believe."

"Well, it's true."

The conversation died off. Peeta stopped walking and reached into the deep pockets of his coat. He pulled out a pair of brown leather gloves and handed them to here. "Here Katniss, Happy Christmas."

She gasped, running her fingers along the supple leather, then put one of the gloves on. Quickly she pulled it off and looked inside. "It's lined with fur."

"Yes, its rabbit fur," Peeta said.

She smiled up at him, then put them both on.

"Do they fit all right?" he asked softly.

"They're perfect. Wherever did you get them?"

"I saw them at Thom's store a while back. I knew you had lost one of your mittens and…well, I thought these would be even warmer."

"They are. Thank you."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a dark blue knit cap. "Here, I made it…well, with help from Prim and my mother when we were trapped inside during that terrific rainstorm."

He smiled and looked it over carefully. "You did a nice job. He put it on his head, his blonde hair, curling around the bottom edges and turned to show her. "How do I look?"

"Good, you look good," she said shyly.

They didn't talk for a while and Peeta grabbed at her gloved hand as they continued to walk. He felt her momentarily pull her hand back, but then she immediately relaxed it and allowed him to hold it.

"What are you thinking about?" he finally asked her.

"Last Christmas," she said. "I never would have expected a year ago that I'd be living in a tent in California this year. It makes me wonder where I'll be next Christmas."

With me, he hoped. But he didn't say it out loud because he wasn't sure exactly what their relationship really was. Was she only with him because of their shared gold claim or was there more involved? He wanted to know. He needed to know.

He stopped walking and turned to face her. He let go of her hand. A puzzled expression crossed her face.

"Katniss, I…" Oh the hell with it, he thought, bringing both of his hands up to cup the side of her face. He leaned forward and pressed his lips gently to hers.

She pulled back after a moment, breaking his hold on her face. "Oh," she mumbled, sounding surprised. "I didn't expect that."

"Remember we're supposed to be courting, so it's all right to kiss me anytime you feel like it," he joked, hoping she hadn't been offended. He reached for a stray lock of her hair that was hanging along the side of her face, and tucked it behind her ear.

A small smile formed on her face, and then she quickly moved forward to capture his lips. They kissed for a while longer, her hands resting on his shoulders and his hands planted firmly on her waist. Finally, they broke apart.

"We should probably go back now," Katniss said softly. Flushed, she grabbed his hand and they turned toward the camp.

Neither spoke. Peeta was pleased that Katniss had responded so eagerly. It was a positive sign, he thought. She seemed to be in a good spirits. Maybe now would be a good time to talk to her about her decision to sing at the saloon.

"Are you happy about singing on New Year's Eve?" he questioned.

"Not really," she admitted.

He suspected as much. "Then why are you doing it?"

"Haymitch is paying me $200, that's why."

"Do you really need the money so badly? When the weather gets better and we can dig out our claim…"

She stopped, turning to look at him, before interrupting. "Of course we need the money Peeta. The price of everything in California is sky high." She looked away from him, as if she was embarrassed to tell him the rest.

"My father gambled away every bit of gold he found. He left us destitute." Her eyes filled with tears. "Last Christmas we lived in a sturdy house. Now we live in a tent. I don't want to…we can't stay like this."

"Oh Katniss, you don't need to worry. Let me help you. I've been doing fairly well…" He put his arms out to hug her, but she stepped back, leaving him with arms stretched out. Quickly he dropped them to his sides.

"I don't need your help Peeta. I can take of my family by myself." She turned back toward the camp and started walking off.

He started after her, but her stride was quick.

"Wait up." He wasn't sure how they had gotten into this situation. One minute she was kissing him, the next she was shouting at him, and running away. What had he done wrong?

She slowed a bit, so he could catch up, but she refused to hold his hand or talk with him. When they arrived back at camp she hurried inside her family's tent.

There was no point in staying around Katniss' campsite. He waved goodbye to the others and returned to his tent to take a nap and think over what had happened.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It rained off and on for the next week. Katniss was only able to go hunting twice and she barely spoke with him. If Vick hadn't been there, acting as a buffer with his nonstop talking, the whole experience would have been painful for the both of them. At least she was wearing the gloves he'd given her, so she couldn't be so upset with him, or maybe she just had cold hands.

Peeta understood that she was concerned about her family's finances. The weather was wreaking havoc with her hunting, and there were so few miners in the camp at present that her mother and sister must be lacking work, as well. They probably wouldn't get back to the cave until spring. He wished she would let him help.

At any rate, it was clear she would be singing at the saloon on New Year's Eve. He would just have to stay close to her side that evening.

**Author's Note: Bathing in milk has been a beauty treatment since the time of Cleopatra. Milk baths are believed to utilize the lactic acid, which is an alpha hydroxy acid, to dissolve the proteins that hold together dead skin cells.**


	11. Chapter 11 - A Day's Work

**Chapter 11 – A Day's Work**

Katniss woke up with a sinking feeling in her stomach on New Years's Eve. She wished it were already the next day. When she had agreed to sing in Haymitch's saloon she had been so focused on the money he promised to pay her that she had completely ignored the tiny voice in her head reminding her that she didn't like to sing for people.

She wished she could talk about it with someone. But there was no one to talk to. Her family was unhappy about her agreement with Haymitch because in their opinion upstanding young ladies did not sing in saloons.

And Peeta…well, they were barely speaking. After he had kissed her on Christmas day, she'd been happy and confused. It unnerved her.

She had answered him honestly about her reasons for taking the singing job, but when he offered to help her family financially, it was too much. It was so kind and generous – it reminded her again that he cared about her. It bothered her because kind people had a way of working themselves inside of her mind and her heart. And he was doing just that. She had to put a stop to it, now. Because she was not going to fall in love. Ever.

The worst of it was that she couldn't stop thinking about him and that kiss, well kisses really, and she had to admit she wanted more.

But then, she'd shouted at him and she didn't know how to make things right again. She knew she should apologize, but she didn't know what to say. `I'm sorry' needed an explanation behind it and she didn't even know how to explain it to herself, so she said nothing.

It started rainy lightly that afternoon. Gale urged her to leave early before the rain got heavier. Katniss put on her best dress and her mother pinned her braid up atop her head.

"Stick close to Gale and Peeta," her mother warned her.

She was surprised to learn that Peeta was outside the tent waiting with Gale. She assumed he wouldn't be going, since they had hardly spoken since Christmas. But maybe he felt obligated to keep up appearances since they were courting. He was standing next to Gale, smiling at her and wearing the knit hat she'd given him. Feeling guilty, Katniss looked away quickly.

They rode horses into town. It was too muddy to walk. The sky opened up midway there. By the time they arrived, everyone was completely wet. Katniss' dress was clinging to her. She hurried inside the saloon to seek shelter.

The room was dimly lit, filled with tables and chairs, and smelling of cigar smoke. Straight ahead, beyond the tables, was the wall-length bar with stools. Haymitch was sitting on one of the stools smoking.

"I see you brought some protection with you," he said, staring at Peeta and Gale. "I don't know you." Haymitch lifted his cigar and pointed at Gale.

"Gale Hawthorne," he said. "I'm Katniss' cousin."

"I can see the resemblance."

He looked at Peeta. "Did you bring me any bread, boy?"

Peeta shook his head, and Haymitch frowned, before turning his attention back to Katniss.

"Sweetheart, you look like something the cat dragged in. Did you bring a change of clothes?"

She shook her head. "My dress will dry soon enough." But she knew her skirt was so wet that she could wring the water out with her hands and it would still be damp.

"You need to borrow a dress from Effie," Haymitch told her. "Go up to her house now."

Kantiss flinched. She did not want to go Effie's house under any circumstances. She glanced at Gale, a look of alarm crossing her face.

His face remained impassive.

"Go now," Haymitch urged. "Before the customers get here."

She scowled, then walked to the door. Gale and Peeta followed at her heels as they made their way through the pouring rain and mud to the big clapboard house.

"This is stupid," Katniss complained. "My clothes are only going to get wet again once I leave the house."

They made their way up the steps and Gale knocked on the door. A short, blonde-haired girl opened it.

"Haymitch sent me up here to borrow a dress," Katniss explained.

The girl at the door didn't respond, so Katniss continued, "I'm singing at the saloon tonight."

The girl nodded then, and opened the door wider to let them in to the large entryway.

They all stopped for a moment to stomp the mud from their shoes.

As they walked through the door, the girl spoke. "Can't stay away Peeta, can you?" she teased.

Katniss and Gale jerked their heads quickly to see Peeta turn a bright shade of red.

How does Peeta know her? Katniss thought, a sharp pain stabbing at her chest. But even before she could begin to ponder it, the girl grabbed at her hand. "Come with me. You two can wait in the parlor." She pointed to room at the right.

She led Katniss up the staircase directly ahead. The lower floor was decorated in a grand fashion. The upstairs was similarly decorated with beautiful rugs and framed pictures on the walls. The girl led her down a hallway that was lined with doors. She knocked on one of them, and called out, "Octavia, I need your help."

After a minute, a plump, red-haired woman, wearing a green robe and a heavily painted face, opened the door. Katniss recognized her as one of the women who she'd seen in town the first time she'd visited there.

"She's singing in the saloon tonight. Haymitch wants her dressed up," the girl said. She led Katniss into a small room. A large brass bed took up most of the floor space. The room also included a wardrobe and an upholstered chair.

Octavia nodded. "Take your clothes off."

Katniss gulped. She didn't want to undress in front of these women. She didn't know them. And she certainly didn't want to strip in a brothel. She looked at the brass bed in the center of the room, strangely embarrassed.

Octavia turned to the girl. "She's too skinny to fit any of my dresses. I'll have to get something from Jo." She left the room.

Katniss stood frozen in place.

"Take off your clothes," the blonde-haired girl said.

Katniss took off her coat and set it onto the bed, then slowly began unbuttoning the front of her dress, but she wasn't quick enough and the girl pushed her hands away and took over. When Octavia returned, Katniss was standing in the room in her underclothes – her chemise and drawers.

"Put this on," Octavia handed Katniss a pale blue dress, but the blonde-haired woman grabbed it from her hands and put it over her head.

"Kind of bossy, Delly," Octavia commented.

"Well, she's kind of slow," Delly replied.

Once the dress, which was cut lower in the bodice than Katniss was used to wearing, was on, the two women took a step back and surveyed her appearance.

"Her hair needs to come down," Delly said. She pulled out the hairpins holding up the braid and made quick work of unraveling Katniss' hair and arranging it to hang over her shoulders. She handed the hairpins to Katniss who shoved them into the pocket of her wet jacket.

"She looks good," Octavia said. "But we need to do something about her face."

Katniss' hands went quickly to her cheeks.

"No paint. I don't want any paint on my face."

"So you can speak," Delly laughed.

Katniss blushed. She wanted to get out of here now.

"Just a little rouge," Octavia said. "For color." She opened her wardrobe and pulled out a small glass container. She opened it up and dipped her finger into it. Quickly she dabbed at Katniss cheeks and worked the color up onto her cheekbones toward her ears.

She and Delly stood back again to look over Katniss.

"Much better," Octavia said, before opening her wardrobe again and pulling out a long, black cape. She hooked it at Katniss' neckline.

"It doesn't matter though, because I'm only going to get rained on again walking back to the saloon," Katniss stated.

"We'll loan you an umbrella," Delly said.

Delly grabbed her hand again to take her downstairs, but Katniss stopped her. She had to know something. It had been weighing on her mind ever since Delly had let them inside. "How do you know Peeta?"

Katniss bit her lower lip waiting for the news – that Peeta was a customer at the brothel. That her friend who was courting her had secrets that he'd kept hidden. She knew he made regular trips into town to get supplies. The very thought that the lips that had kissed her were doing heaven knows what to Delly or Octavia or anyone else here, made her stomach sink, but she had to know.

Delly licked her lips and smiled coyly. "Does it bother you that I know him?"

Katniss tried to keep her face expressionless, but she was sure Delly saw the concern that flashed in her eyes.

"Oh for lands sakes, don't be so upset. I was just teasing. Peeta came here last week to buy milk. I showed him how to milk our cows."

"Oh." Katniss took a deep breath. She was relieved.

"Is he your sweetie?" Delly continued.

Katniss nodded, although she wouldn't describe Peeta in that fashion at all. But in this place, she felt strangely possessive about him.

"I figured he might have one, he was awfully nervous around me," she laughed.

The conversation ended and Delly took her downstairs. She reached into a big ceramic urn next to the front door, pulled out a canvas umbrella, and handed it to Katniss.

"She's ready for you now," Delly called as she popped her head into the parlor.

Peeta and Gale, who'd been sitting stiffly in the two side chairs stood up and walked to the entry. Their clothing looked a bit drier, but Gale's hair was still very wet. Peeta had removed the knit cap, so the top part of his head was dry, while the ends fell into wet curls around the sides of his face.

"Nice look Katniss," Gale smirked, seeing his cousin with her hair down and painted in rouge.

Katniss glared back at him, at the same time noticing that Peeta was staring at her, as well. Quickly she looked down and realized that the cape was pushed open revealing the lower cut of the dress. Did he see? She quickly grabbed the sides of it and pulled it closed.

"Let's go," she said.

Delly let them out, after showing Katniss how to open the umbrella.

"Have fun," Delly called as the three of them headed back to the saloon.

Haymitch frowned when he saw Katniss. "Those damn girls made you look like one of them. He handed her a wet cloth from behind the bar. "Wipe that paint off your cheeks, braid your hair, and keep the cloak on."

Katniss began wiping at her cheeks. Once they were clean, she quickly braided her hair into a thick side plait that hung over one shoulder. She was glad Haymitch said to leave the cloak on. She'd never worn a dress cut this low, besides the room was cold.

There were already customers sitting at the bar and a game of cards was being played at one of the tables. The men glanced up and leered at Katniss, making her uncomfortable.

"What can I get for you boy?" Haymitch asked Gale. "I know what the baker here likes, but what about you, beer or whiskey."

"I'll try your whiskey old man," Gale said.

Haymitch poured out two glasses and gave one to Peeta and the second to Gale. Then he picked up a pitcher of water and poured a glass for Katniss. "No spirits for you tonight, you're working."

"I don't drink liquor," Katniss said stiffly, as she reached for the glass.

"Oh a follower of the temperance movement, I see."

"If I were a follower, do you think I would have agreed to sing in a saloon?" she hissed. She drank a sip of water and put her glass down on the edge of the bar's top.

"Well, aren't you the fiery one," Haymitch retorted.

"When do I start?" Katniss asked. He said she'd be singing all night long and there were men already here. She wanted to get this whole thing over with as soon as possible.

"You can start now. Climb up on the bar."

Katniss face paled. "I'm not climbing up there." The bar was a narrow ledge that was easily four feet off the ground. She didn't want to fall. Also the height would give some of the patrons an eye view of her undergarments.

"What about a chair?" she suggested.

"Alright for now," Haymitch agreed. "But you're going on top of the bar when things pick up."

Katniss nodded, but she hoped that Haymitch would be too drunk to remember it later.

She grabbed a chair from one of the tables and dragged it over to the wall. She climbed up on top of it. "Do I just start singing?" she called to Haymitch.

"I'll introduce you first," he said. He turned to face the customers who had been watching Katniss carefully ever since she had entered the saloon.

"Gentlemen, this is.." he turned to Katniss and asked, "what's your name girl?"

She whispered it to him. Once more he faced the customers. "Katniss Everdeen from Dirty District 12 to sing songs of home."

All eyes were on Katniss as she began to sing the comedic ballard, _Take Your Time Miss Lucy_.

_When young my heart was bent, sir,_

_Upon a nice young beau,_

_So to my ma I went, sir_

_And she reprov'd me so._

_Indeed my dear you're joking,_

_You're still too young to know._

_So take your time Miss Lucy,_

_Miss Lucy, Lucy, oh._

_So take your time Miss Lucy,_

_Miss Lucy, Lucy, oh._

Katniss glanced briefly around the room as she sang. Her heart was pounding as she noticed all eyes were on her. She looked at the nearby table where Peeta and Gale sat. Gale had already finished his glass of whiskey and was leaning back in his chair with his eyes half-closed. Peeta was leaning forward at the table smiling at her, his glass still full. She continued to sing.

_But not content with that, sir,_

_To father I did go;_

_But he my head did pat, sir,_

_And plumply answer'd No!_

_There's time enough for lovers,_

_Don't impatient grow,_

_Just take your time Miss Lucy,_

_Miss Lucy, Lucy, oh._

_Just take your time Miss Lucy,_

_Miss Lucy, Lucy, oh._

She finished the song to loud clapping and some cheering. She looked over to Haymitch who was sitting at the bar smoking. He nodded toward her and she began to sing another song, a soft, romantic ballard called _Sleeping, I Dreamed Love_.

Katniss noticed a few men wipe tears from the eyes after that song ended. She followed this with _The Rose of Allandale_.

Haymitch motioned for her to take a break after the song ended. He wanted the customers to buy drinks and while she sang, everyone had sat quietly.

Katniss hopped down from the chair and dragged it over to sit at the table with Peeta. Gale had left to get more whiskey from the bar.

She took a long sip of water from her glass, which Haymitch had set upon the table.

Katniss took a deep breath, and then smiled at Peeta. She was so glad he was here with her. She knew she should apologize for the way she'd been acting ever since he offered to help her family. He was a good friend to her. Too good.

She reached one of her hands across the table and rested it atop one of his. "Thank you for coming Peeta."

While it wasn't an apology, she could tell that her gesture and comment had been accepted as one. Immediately the tension between the two of them eased. She felt comfortable with him again.

"You were wonderful," Peeta said softly. "How are you feeling?"

"Nervous. But they seemed to like it."

The bar was filling up. Now that she had stopped singing, the noise level raised considerably. Katniss noticed a few men from Dirty District 12 had arrived, including Rye.

"Your brother's here," she pointed out to Peeta. He turned his head, catching Rye's eye. His brother tipped his drink toward Peeta.

Gale returned to the table with a glass of whiskey. "This stuff isn't half-bad Peeta," he said, as he took a long drink.

"Take it easy, or you'll be sorry tomorrow," Peeta warned.

Gale laughed, and then turned his head toward the door. Five women had just entered the room, faces painted and colorful dresses cut low. "Looks the party's just starting," Gale joked, as took another swig of whiskey.

**Author's Note : The temperance movement was a social ideology urging reduced or prohibited use of alcoholic beverages. It started in the United States in the late 18****th**** century and by the 1840s was being promoted in an organized fashion by both Catholic and Protestant church leaders. **

_**Take Your Time Miss Lucy**_** was written in 1842, with music by George Loder and words by A. Allan**_**. Sleeping, I Dreamed Love**_** was written in 1844, with music by M.V. Wallace and John H. Hewitt, and words by Mary C. Hewitt.**


	12. Chapter 12 - A New Year, A Fresh Start

**Chapter 12 – A New Year, A Fresh Start**

The noise grew so loud in the room that Peeta wondered if Katniss would be able to continue to sing. Card games were in full swing, men were swearing loudly, and Effie's girls were sitting on the laps of a few miners letting out ear-piercing shrieks. It was exactly how Peeta remembered it. He looked at Katniss to gauge her reaction. She seemed embarrassed.

"It's getting warm in here," she said, as she took the sides of the cloak and tried to fan them against herself.

"Why don't you take off your cloak then?"

She shook her head.

After a break of nearly an hour, Peeta flagged Haymitch down, and asked him when Katniss would sing again. He could tell she was getting restless.

Haymitch whistled loudly and got the noise level to lower a bit. Katniss stood up and dragged her chair back against the wall. She climbed on top and started singing in the midst of the noise. She was halfway through _Oh Susanna_, when the room grew quiet. She followed it with _Be Kind_ _To Loved Ones At Home_.

Toward the end of the song, she started to sway slightly. She raised her hand and wiped the sweat off her forehead. It looked like she might topple over.

Peeta stood up quickly, to the jeers of the men sitting behind him, and made his way next to her. He brought her glass of water with him. When she finished the song, he handed it to her.

"Drink this, you look like you're about to faint."

"It's so warm," she said, before taking a swallow.

He reached for the button that fixed her cloak on and pulled it off of her.

"No, Peeta," she hissed.

He realized then what she was so concerned about. The dress she had borrowed was cut low in the front. It fit her well, curving snuggly over her breasts, but showing more skin than she usually revealed.

"Why don't you take a break?" he said.

She shook her head. "I've hardly done any singing at all. I want to get paid."

She grabbed the cloak back from him and put it back on, buttoning it firmly.

"Sit down," she told him, before launching into another song. But by now, the alcohol had soaked into the customers. Katniss stopped singing halfway through her next song, and the only one who even noticed was Peeta. The rest of the people in the room were focused on each other, talking, yelling, laughing, screaming, fighting – the noise was deafening.

Katniss dragged the chair back to the table. Peeta was standing nearby. Someone had taken his chair when he gave Katniss the water. Katniss looked around for Gale, but he wasn't sitting at the table anymore. Someone, she didn't recognize had taken his seat.

"Let's go outside for a bit," Peeta said, reaching for her hand. He was leading her outside, when she froze in place. He stopped and turned to see what was wrong.

"Rory's here." She pointed to the other side of the room. "He must have snuck out. Aunt Hazelle is going to be furious when she finds out."

Rory was leaning against the wall, a glass of brown liquid in hand. He was chatting with Darius, another miner from their camp.

Peeta shrugged. "Let's go." He led her out of the saloon to the bench that was placed against the front of the building. They both sat down. The rain had stopped and the sky had cleared. Overhead he could see the dark blue sky filled with thousands of twinkling lights.

"Now I'm cold," she said, pulling the cloak tighter around her shoulders.

"I can fix that," Peeta said, moving closer to her side and putting his arm around her shoulder.

She stiffened for a brief moment, then relaxed and leaned her head onto his shoulder.

"I like your borrowed dress."

In the moonlight, Peeta could see her smirk. "I'll bet you do."

They heard loud laughter as one of Effie's girls and a miner walked out of the saloon and headed toward the white clapboard house.

Katniss' eyes opened wide as she watched the couple grope each other as they walked, then she turned her head a bit, staring off in the opposite direction.

She's embarrassed watching those two skip off to Effie's house, Peeta thought. It was kind of strange how quickly decent men turned into fools when left to their own devices. Most of the men inside the saloon were acting in ways that would shame the families they had left behind. Boredom and loneliness could lead to all kinds of trouble.

They sat there for a while longer, before the saloon door opened again. It was Haymitch.

"There you are sweetheart. I'm not paying you to sit outside," he spit out.

"She's taking a break," Peeta explained.

Haymitch glared at him, tipping his glass toward Katniss shoulder, where Peeta's arm rested. "Break time is over. Get back inside."

Peeta pulled his arm back, as Katniss stood up quickly. He followed her inside

The noise level was still high when they returned. It was difficult to hear anyone talk. All the chairs were occupied.

Haymitch leaned into Katniss' face and spoke. Peeta saw Katniss shake her head. But Haymitch continued talking to her and she finally nodded. She turned to Peeta.

"I'm going to sit on top of the bar to sing," she said, frowning.

Peeta nodded, wondering exactly how that would work. Sitting on the bar didn't lift her much higher above the crowd than standing on a chair.

Haymitch pushed away a few miners who were seated near one end of the bar, then Katniss climbed up onto a stool and, with Peeta's assistance, positioned herself to sit on the end portion.

Haymitch pounded his fist loudly on the bartop near Katniss. He placed two fingers to his mouth and whistled shrilly. The noise level lowered for a moment and Haymitch shouted.

"I'm paying this girl good money to sing for you boys, so listen up."

Katniss' face grew red as all eyes stared at her. She gulped quickly before opening her mouth to sing _The Willow Song_. When she had finished, the room was quiet. She followed with three more songs, but at that point the crowd had gotten restless again.

The miners who were playing cards were resuming their games, one of the women had stood up and was leading a man out of the saloon to the catcalls of everyone they walked past, and an argument had broken out in a far corner of the room.

When she finished the song, Katniss looked at Peeta and mouthed, "help me down." With his assistance, she was soon on the floor.

There was nowhere to sit in the loud, smoky room, so Peeta pulled her toward the door to go outside again. Before they got out of the building, Gale stopped them.

"Nice singing Katniss," he slurred. He was clutching a glass of whiskey in his hand.

Katniss scowled at him. "You're drunk Gale, I thought you were going to stay with me."

Gale smiled. "Peeta's with you."

Her expression didn't change. "Rory's here, you know."

Gale nodded. "I already talked to him. He's fine. Let us have some fun Katniss. You sound like my mother."

Katniss took a step back as if he had slapped her. Peeta pulled her outside again.

"Is it midnight yet?" she asked as they sat on the bench.

He pulled out his pocket watch to check. "Nearly 10 o'clock. You still have two hours."

Katniss sighed, leaning into him. "Let's stay outside until Haymitch comes to find me."

Peeta nodded and the two sat outside listening to the din from the building, and watching men and women leave the saloon to walk to Effie's house, while other men returned from their visit to the house to re-enter the bar.

Katniss gasped when she saw Gale leave the saloon arm-in-arm with the woman with the spiky hair sauntering off in the direction of the white clapboard house. Gale didn't notice Katniss though; he was busy tickling the woman's side. It was the same woman who had teased him when the two families had first visited the town.

"Are you alright?" Peeta asked. He could tell that she was visibly shaken seeing her cousin nonchalantly walk off with a prostitute.

"No," she said. "I'm surprised and…well, disgusted."

Peeta nodded. He didn't know what to say. He fully understood why men sought the affections of women, even if they had to pay for it. So while he couldn't condemn them, he knew that he, personally, could never frequent a brothel. He couldn't imagine getting that close to another person and not feeling some kind of connection. He was too much of a romantic.

They never saw Gale return to the saloon as Haymitch appeared shortly afterward to tell Katniss she needed to come inside and sing. Peeta helped Katniss climb back up onto the bar, where she ended up sitting until midnight. She'd sing for a while, then stop, and then sing again. When it got close to midnight, Katniss sang _Auld Lang Syne_. Many of the miners sang along with her, their loud, drunken voices drowning out her own.

Afterwards, Peeta helped her down from the bartop and they sat down at an empty table. Most of the saloon had emptied at midnight, so that the miners could go outside and shoot their guns up into the air to celebrate the entrance of 1849. Eventually that ended when Cray stopped it, but not before a miner was grazed by a falling bullet.

While many of the miners left to return to their camps, a few came back into the saloon and continued to drink.

"You're still working," Haymitch told Katniss. "So get up and sing."

Her eyelids were drooping. But she forced herself up and stood on a chair. No one paid her any attention, but she sang a few more songs, then climbed down from the chair.

"When do you close this place?" she asked Haymitch.

"When all my customers leave."

Katniss scowled. A few miners were playing cards, and it appeared as if the game could continue for the next several hours. But a fight developed between two of the players over a particular hand and one of them stood up and drew a revolver.

Peeta jumped up, ready to pull Katniss from her chair and hide her behind the bar.

Haymitch, who had been sitting on a bar stool watching the game, leapt to his feet.

"Game over," he shouted. "Everyone out of here."

The players started yelling amongst themselves, grabbing at the gold nuggets that littered the table and stuffing them into their pockets. Within minutes the room was clear.

"Okay, sweetheart. You're done," Haymitch turned to Katniss. He pulled a pouch from his pocket filled with nuggets and gold dust. He pulled out some nuggets and placed them in her open palm.

She looked up at Peeta as if to ask, if it was enough.

He nodded and she closed her hand around the nuggets. "Thank you," she said to Haymitch.

She turned to Peeta. "I need to get my clothes back."

"You might want to go back in the daytime to collect them," Peeta suggested.

She scowled, but when they walked outside, she could see that while the saloon had shut down for the night, all the night's activity seemed to have shifted to Effie's house. Several miners were sitting on the front steps of the house talking loudly and there was some kind of light coming from nearly every window.

"My best dress is in there and my father's hunting jacket," she fumed.

"Do you want to go inside and look for them right now?"

She shook her head.

They untied their horses, carefully making their way back to Dirty District 12. Along the way, they met a few of the other miners who were walking back. A half-mile from camp, they saw a queasy Rory. The stench of vomit surrounded him. Katniss stopped her horse and offered to let Rory climb up so he could ride back. He refused.

Peeta was secretly glad. His time alone with Katnis was almost over. He didn't want it to end just yet.

It was completely still in Dirty District 12, when they returned. The chirp of crickets was loud, and in the distance an owl hooted. Peeta and Katniss dismounted and tied up the horses at the grazing section of the camp.

As Peeta walked her back to her family's tent, Katniss thanked him again for coming along with her. "I don't think I could have done it on my own. And Gale, well…" her voice trailed off.

"It was my pleasure," Peeta said. "I like spending time with you. Besides I was hoping for a New Year's kiss."

Katniss stopped in place and turned to study Peeta. "Oh?"

Yes and I hope you won't run away like you seem to do whenever I express any emotion toward you, he thought. But he didn't say anything more because he couldn't read her face exactly. Her expression was one of wistfulness mixed with fear. But maybe it wasn't fear, he thought, maybe she's nervous. Hell, he sure was. His heart was thumping loudly in his chest.

In the pale moonlight, he put his right hand onto her check, the lower portion of it resting against her chin. His eyes closed as he leaned in to press against her soft lips. All the longings he had for her, all the uncertainty he had about her emotions, all of his hopes for a future with her – he put into the kiss.

He was the one who broke away, breathing heavily and dropping his hand from her face. But then she surprised him, putting her hand upon his check and pulling him back toward her, returning the very emotions he had conveyed. His left hand moved quickly around to rest on the back of her head.

She broke away this time, looking dazed. She glanced up at him quickly and he could see the surprise in her eyes, followed by a sudden flash of fear. She quickly looked away.

"I need to get home," she said quietly.

They continued to walk, but stopped when they reached Vick's rock perimeter that outlined her family's campsite. He squeezed her hand for a moment before letting go. She turned and gave him a small smile before hurrying into her tent.

Peeta grinned as he slowly walked to the tent he shared with his brother at the far end of the camp. They'd kissed and she hadn't yelled at him or run away. Things were looking up.

Rye was wrapped in his bedroll when Peeta entered the dark tent. "Did you see your girl home?" Rye questioned him.

"Yes," Peeta said.

"She's sure got a fine voice," Rye said. "It's hard to believe a girl like that would fall for you," Rye added. A few minutes later his brother was snoring.

But Peeta lay awake for a long time. Despite the kisses, they'd shared, he had to wonder the same thing.

Everyone slept in the first day of 1849. It was cold, but the sun was shining brightly. Sae brewed extra coffee for the miners. Most had visited the saloon the previous evening and suffered from terrific hangovers.

After breakfast, Peeta, Katniss, and Vick went hunting. Afterwards, Peeta hitched up his horse and cart and the three of them headed to town so that Katniss could return the borrowed clothes and retrieve her own garments.

Peeta took Vick to the general store, while Katniss walked over to Effie's house to make the exchange. He didn't think Hazelle would approve of her youngest son sitting in the parlor of the town's brothel. Although, if she knew of her oldest son's actions the previous evening, she would have been even more upset.

Thom and Peeta talked for a long time about the news that more people were headed for the gold fields. The person who had recently delivered stock for Thom's store had told him that ships were arriving daily in San Francisco Harbor filled with prospective miners. Thom talked about expanding his business and urged Peeta to open a bakery in town.

But when he and Vick left the store, Katniss was nowhere in sight. Vick was getting restless and Peeta thought about knocking on the door of the clapboard house, when Katniss finally exited. She was wearing her hunting jacket and carrying her dress.

But something was different about her. Peeta could see it in her face. She seemed thoughtful. He wondered what had gone on in Effie's house?

**Author's Note: **_**Oh Susanna**_** was published in 1846, with words and music by Stephen S. Foster. **_**Be Kind to Loved Ones at Home**_** was published in 1847, with words and music by I.B. Woodbury. **_**The Willow Song**_** was published in 1847, with music by I.N. Metcalf and words by J. Wesley Hanson. **_**Auld Lang Syne**_** was a poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 and set to a traditional folk song. It is a tradition in the English-speaking world to sing the song at midnight at the start of the New Year.**


	13. Chapter 13 - The Forty-Niners Arrive

**Chapter 13 – The Forty-Niners Arrive**

When Katniss woke up on the first day of the new year, she had a brief, delicious feeling of happiness that was somehow connected to Peeta. She recalled the passionate kisses they'd shared when they returned from the saloon. She hadn't wanted them to stop. But then she remembered that it couldn't mean anything because she wasn't going to give her heart away. She'd promised herself.

Still, the sensation was so unexpected and sweet, that she clung to it, if only for a few moments.

Eventually she got up and dressed. Her mother and Prim wanted to know all about her performance the evening before. She talked about it in general terms. She didn't want to give them much detail because, if not for the money, she never would have done it. The entire experience had bordered on offensive. If Peeta hadn't been there at her side, she didn't know how she would have survived it. She didn't mention to them that Rory had attended and staggered home like a drunken lout, or that Gale had paid a visit to Effie's house.

"Where did these clothes come from?" Her mother held up the dress and cape that Katniss had taken off and tossed in the corner of the tent before going to sleep.

"I borrowed them. My clothes got wet on the ride to town."

Her mother frowned. "You wore this dress?" she asked, looking it over carefully.

"I kept the cloak on the entire time."

"I hope so." Her mother handed the clothes to her. "Be sure that you return this to whomever you borrowed them from."

"Whose clothes are they?" Prim asked.

"I'm not sure," Katniss admitted. She didn't want to say they belonged to a prostitute, but really what other women were in town anyway? She was sure her mother already knew.

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Katniss was glad Vick was there when she went hunting with Peeta after breakfast. In the daylight, she was nervous around him. He smiled shyly at her and she'd returned the smile, all the time thinking she needed to stop it. She was only encouraging something that could never happen.

After hunting, Peeta suggested that they go into town so she could return the borrowed clothing and retrieve her own. She stopped by the tent to get the dress and cloak. She ended up riding on the horse again with him, while Vick partly walked, then rode in the cart.

She was eager to dismount once they'd reached District 12. Sitting so close to Peeta on the horse was unnerving her. Peeta and Vick went into the general store, while she walked to the clapboard house. She knocked on the white door. Delly opened it.

"You're back," she trilled. "Jo will be so glad to see her dress. She thought you stole it. Follow me."

Katniss followed the girl up the flight of stairs to the second floor, and down the same hallway she walked last night. First Delly stopped at Octavia's room. She took the cloak from Katniss' arms and handed it to Octavia when she opened the door.

"Thank you," Katniss murmured. Octavia nodded and hastily slammed the door shut. Delly continued down the hallway, with Katniss following. Jo's room was the last door on the right. Delly knocked on it twice, before opening it.

"Look, she brought your dress back Jo."

Katniss stood behind Delly, slowly following her into the small bedroom. It was similar to the room she had been in last night – a brass bed in the center, with a wardrobe and an upholstered chair against one wall. On the floor next the bed was an open bottle and a glass filled with amber liquid.

The woman sitting on the center of the bed had spiky dark hair and wide-set brown eyes. This was Jo, the same woman who had been arm-in-arm with Gale last night. Her skin was devoid of paint, and Katniss could see that Jo was only a few years older than herself.

She was dressed in her undergarments. But they were unlike the simple cotton chemise and drawers that Katniss owned. This underwear was lacy and frilly and cut in a revealing manner.

The entire ensemble looked to Katniss like it would itch.

Katniss placed the garment onto the bed. "Thank you for letting me borrow your dress."

Jo looked at it, and then glanced up at Katniss. "Did you wash it?"

"No," Katniss faltered, realizing that she had been sweating for a good part of the evening. The dress probably reeked. "I could wash it for you…" she began, but Jo interrupted.

"Don't bother." She looked irritated at Katniss, who had begun to back out of the room.

"Well aren't you curious?" Jo asked her bluntly.

"What about?" Katniss didn't understand what Jo meant.

"About us brainless." Jo laughed loudly and Delly nervously joined in.

"What do you mean?"

"You're probably the only virgin within 100 miles and you're not the least bit curious about what goes on in here? Don't you want some advice from a professional?"

Katniss' face grew warm. She knew about the mechanics of what was going on in Effie's house. She'd lived on a farm in Oregon and taken care of livestock. She didn't want any advice from Jo. In fact, she wanted –no, needed- to leave now. Immediately.

Beside her she heard Delly giggle. "What about me Jo? I'm still a virgin."

"You don't count Delly. You're only here because of your Aunt Effie. And you know too much already."

Katniss turned toward Delly to ask her where her own dress and coat were. But Jo continued speaking.

"I'll bet you have all these romantic notions about love. You're probably wishing for a knight in shining armor. But you're wrong; men aren't honorable or decent." Jo licked her lips slowly and leered at Katniss.

Katniss gulped. "Where are my clothes?" she asked Delly, who was staring curiously at Jo.

Delly turned to face Katniss, smiling briefly, as if she was grateful for an excuse to leave. "I'll find them." She left the room, with Katniss quick on her heels. She followed Delly to the kitchen where her dress and jacket were folded over the back of two chairs.

Katniss grabbed at her jacket, quickly putting it on. Delly handed her the dress.

"Sorry about Jo," Delly apologized. "She's usually not like this. But today is the anniversary of her husband's death."

"Oh," Katniss muttered.

"It was really tragic," Delly continued, her voice lowering to a whisper as she passed along the gossip. "He was with his mistress and…well the woman's husband walked in on them and fired his pistol. Jo didn't even know her husband had a lover. It broke her."

Surprised at Delly's lurid revelation, Katniss ran for the door. She hurried out to find Peeta and Vick waiting for her. She was quiet as she rode on the horse with Peeta back to the camp. She pondered Jo's words. The prostitute couldn't have been more wrong. There were a few honorable and decent men. Peeta was one.

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It was cool and rainy for most of January, but that didn't stop the miners who were still in the camp from going to the river every day to pan for gold. Many of the men had left the camp as winter continued, some to return to Oregon with their earnings, others to wait out the rain in towns larger than District 12.

For Katniss, life was the same, hunting when the weather permitted with Peeta and Vick. They weren't able to try to find the cave again because the ground was too muddy to take the cart, and the distance too far for Peeta to walk with his bum leg. He never said anything about it, but the damp weather seemed to make his limp even more pronounced.

She was glad for the money she'd earned singing. She gave it to her mother who used it to help pay for the foodstuffs Gale had purchased at Thom's store.

Uncle Samuel was slowly getting better. He joined in the nightly card games with the others. One sunny day, he went to the river to pan for a couple of hours. Soon he was going there everyday with Gale and Rory.

Peeta and his brother continued to spend most of their evenings with Katniss' family. But the couple had no time alone together. Katniss didn't mind though, because she was confused. She and Peeta were supposed to be pretending to court. But somewhere along the way it had stopped being pretend. He was becoming more than a friend to her. The courtship was beginning to seem real, and it scared her.

She was glad for the distraction that came with new settlers to Dirty District 12. One day in early February ten new people moved into the camp. All were young men, but two stood out to Katniss' family, a middle-aged man named Reverend Undersee and his daughter Madge.

Aunt Hazelle was overjoyed to learn that a minister had moved to the camp, even if he planned to seek gold for a short while to recover the cost of his travel expenses. She invited the preacher and his daughter to join the family for dinner after they had set up their tent.

Reverend Undersee was a tall, thin man about Uncle Samuel's age. Madge was slender, with pale skin and strawberry blonde hair. She was quiet, soft-spoken, and had a sad look about her. When the Undersees arrived to eat, Katniss, Prim, and Posy hurried to greet Madge. They were excited that another girl would be joining them.

"What do you think of Dirty District 12?" Prim asked.

"It's certainly different from Boston," Madge replied. "I'm glad to be here though, it seems like we've traveling forever."

Over a meal of squirrel stew, Madge described their sea journey to California. It took over five months. She and her father had left Boston in mid-August on a ship that traveled south along the coast of the United States and around Cape Horn, the southernmost point in South America, then north to San Francisco.

"We didn't originally come for gold," Madge said. "There were rumors about it when we left Boston, but no one knew if they were true. We came because my father wanted to preach the gospel to the poor Indian peoples of California. But when we landed in San Francisco, he changed his mind. He said the miners needed his help even more."

Everyone had been listening to Madge speak, and when she stopped to take a bite of food, Reverend Undersee broke in. "The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil," he told both families. "We saw so much corruption and depravity when we landed in San Francisco, I knew the Lord was calling me to the gold fields to help the miners."

Aunt Hazelle nodded in agreement, while Uncle Samuel rolled his eyes. Katniss' mother smiled, then covered her mouth with her hand as if to hide a laugh. Meanwhile Gale was focused on Madge, studying her carefully like she was prey, and he was ready to pounce.

After dinner, Peeta and Rye arrrived to play cards as usual. Hazelle introduced the two brothers to her guests. "Peeta is Katniss' beau. They are courting," she said proudly.

Katniss quickly glanced at Peeta. He winked at her before breaking into a grin. She looked away quickly, wishing he were less endearing. It would make things so much easier in her mind if she didn't like him so much.

Everyone sat around talking until Uncle Samuel pulled out his deck of cards. Aunt Hazelle glared at him. Neither was sure if the reverend would take offense at a simple card game. But Rye, who was clearly oblivious as to the delicacy of the situation, asked Samuel when the game would start. Hazelle coughed loudly, but the reverend smiled and said it was time for him to return to his tent and read his Bible.

He called for Madge, but after some conversation it was agreed that she could stay a bit longer at the campsite and that Gale would walk her back to her father's tent.

The two mothers took over the washing of dishes, while Katniss, Prim, Posy, and Madge went inside the Everdeen tent to visit with each other. Madge told them about her mother who had died two years earlier and Prim told her about their father's recent death.

"Is your mother a godly woman?" Madge asked. "My father hopes to remarry."

Katniss glanced at Prim, who looked as startled as she. "Our father only died a few months ago," Katniss said. "She's still grieving."

Madge nodded. "My father grieved for a while too. But of course, my mother was sick for a very long time so he was better prepared."

It wasn't long before Gale was at the tent entrance ready to walk Madge back to her father's tent. Katniss noticed that her cheeks were flushed and a shy smile appeared on her face when she got up to join him.

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The presence of Reverend Undersee and his daughter made an impact on Dirty District 12 in many ways. Until then, most of the miners had worked seven days a week at the river, occasionally taking a random day off to rest. Even Hazelle had found it impossible to convince Gale, Rory, and even Uncle Samuel to honor the Sabbath by putting their gold pan down on Sunday.

But Reverend Undersee offered to conduct a short church service in the camp on Sunday mornings. On the first Sunday after his arrival, only the Hawthornes and the Everdeens attended. This was followed by a big meal. Afterwards, Hazelle insisted the men take the day off from looking for gold. She wouldn't let Vick leave either, which effectively meant that Katniss couldn't go hunting.

Then, later that afternoon she suggested that Katniss and Peeta, and Gale and Madge take a walk. Of course the four of them didn't stay together. As soon as they were outside the perimeter of the mining camp, as if by unspoken agreement, Peeta led Katniss off in one direction and Gale led Madge off into another.

Katniss was nervous being alone with Peeta for the first time since New Year's Eve. She wondered if he'd try to kiss her again. While she didn't want to encourage him any further, she hoped he did. She had spent a lot of time remembering those kisses.

When he grabbed at her hand and laced his fingers through hers as they walked, she got nervous, but reminded herself that it was okay for friends to hold hands.

When they stopped walking for a moment to admire a flock of birds in flight and he kissed her cheek, she didn't flinch, because of course, friends do kiss each other's cheeks. Why she'd done that very same thing when she found out they'd discovered gold.

When he bent his head forward into the side of her neck and nuzzled her, shivers ran down her back. Okay, maybe this was something friends didn't do. She probably should have pulled back then, but she didn't want him to stop.

But when he put his finger under her chin and tilted her face to meet his mouth, she eagerly pressed forward. Afterwards she consoled herself with the thought that it didn't mean anything, it _couldn't_ mean anything. She just liked kissing Peeta. Very much.

They ran into Gale and Madge as they were walking back to camp. Gale looked angry and Madge looked quiet and sad. Her eyes were rimmed in red. Immediately Katniss wondered what had happened. She and Peeta exchanged glances, apparently he'd noticed the couple's demeanor as well.

They walked back to camp and Gale immediately left Madge's side and joined the card game.

"I need to talk to her," Katniss whispered, pulling her hand out of Peeta's. She motioned for Madge to go into her family's tent.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

Madge shook her head. "I think I hurt your cousin," she said softly.

"How?"

But Madge didn't answer. Her red eyes filled with tears. It was clear she wasn't going to say any more.

So Katniss changed the subject completely and in a short time Madge had cheered up and the two girls were laughing heartily. It's nice to have a female friend, Katniss thought when Madge left with her father that evening.

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Daily, new miners were appearing in camp. Until then, Dirty District 12 had no real leader. The original group of men who had formed the mining camp had all been from Oregon. They'd met up while traveling on the Siskiyou Trail.

Now men were beginning to arrive from the eastern part of the United States, having traveled by ship around Cape Horn, like Reverend Undersee and Madge. Others had taken the shorter sea route in which the miners traveled by ship to Panama, and then crossed the jungles of that land to reach Panama City before catching a ship to San Francisco. But that route could be dangerous. Many died in the jungles of Panama.

It was expected that the number of miners would swell even more in the months to come when men arrived in the wagon trains that had crossed the Great Plains.

Before the influx of new miners, no one worried about the theft of their possessions. Men even left their gold sitting in their tents unguarded. But some of the newest members to arrive were less honest.

It became clear to the original miners who had settled in Dirty District 12 that they needed to organize among themselves to form a system of government that defined and protected their property rights.

An election was held among all the men of the camp and a mayor and sheriff were elected. A council of men, among which included Peeta, Gale, and Uncle Samuel would oversee management of the camp. A list of regulations was drawn up to prevent claim jumping and theft of mining equipment and gold.

The gold seekers also began investing in new equipment. Instead of a single miner panning for gold, informal groups of miners purchased a rocker, or cradle as it was called, for $100. It took at least two men to operate, but more sand and gravel could be processed in a day than using the panning method. The Hawthornes, together with Rye, purchased one. Rye had been able to save the money to help pay for the equipment since he wasn't gambling anymore. He owed his good fortune to Aunt Hazelle's fight against vice.

Ironically, even though more men were coming into the camp, Sae's business was dropping off. Almost all of the new men were arriving loaded down with food supplies and were cooking for themselves, not willing to spend their hard-earned gold on already prepared meals. Unfortunately, this meant Sae didn't need much game anymore, resulting in less work for Katniss.

**Author's Note: After 1848 the miners rarely worked alone once the cradle became the dominant mining tool. Teamwork was even more necessary with the introduction of the Long Tom. This device was similar to the cradle, but longer, as much as 15 feet in length. It caught more gold than the cradle.**


	14. Chapter 14 - An Engagement

**Chapter 14 – An Engagement**

Peeta could scarcely believe all the changes occurring in the mining camp. It was beginning to resemble a small town in size with nearly one hundred people settling there. It already had a larger population than the town of District 12. Even more miners were expected to arrive shortly, once it was possible for them to cross the Sierra Nevada's on foot.

After the quiet of winter, the atmosphere of Dirty District 12 was lively, noisy, and energetic. Most of the Oregonians who'd left for the winter did not return. They took their gold home to the their farms and restarted their lives. For the old-timers like Peeta, who had lived there at least six months now, the camp seemed like an altogether different place. The sea of tents expanded much farther in all directions.

Peeta had been elected as one of twelve people who sat on a council that governed the camp.

As the only merchant in the group, he represented the views of the few individuals in camp who weren't there to find gold, but were there to make a living by providing services to the miners. Besides himself, this included the few women in the camp, who were providing food, laundry and tailoring assistance to the miners – all the domestic skills formerly provided by the mothers or wives of the men who were now alone and searching for gold.

Unlike Sae, his business was prospering. Previously he and Sae had combined their food items to make a complete meal, for example stew and biscuits. Now, however, miners were seeking him out directly to purchase a loaf of bread, or a dozen biscuits, or a pie to supplement the meals they cooked for themselves.

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The mud was nearly gone. He, Katniss, and Vick had already taken the horse and cart out a second time to look for the cave. Unfortunately they still hadn't been able to find it. Sometimes Peeta wondered if he had imagined the entire episode, but he still had that piece of gold he'd dug out from the limestone wall. He kept it in his pocket and ran his fingers over it nearly every day, remembering that snowy interlude with Katniss.

When they had gone to look for the cave, they had also tried to visit Jaime and his family. But the Mexican miner had moved on. His tent was gone and the only evidence that he'd even been there was the charred remains of his campfire.

Ever since the Undersees had arrived, he'd been able to spend more time alone with Katniss. Every Sunday, the reverend held a church service. Peeta and several of the other miners began attending. It seemed like a piece of home to take the time to read some scripture, pray, and listen to the reverend lecture about the temptations of greed. Not that the miners took it very seriously. They sang hymns too, and of course Katniss' voice enticed many to attend.

Afterwards, the women would cook a large meal and invite everyone to stay. They'd play games later, cards, and even held a few running races, although he couldn't participate in that. But much later, when most of the others had returned to their tents, Peeta and Katniss, and Gale and Madge would take a walk.

They rarely stayed together. He steered Katniss away from the other couple as quickly as he could. It was the only time they had alone together without Vick within earshot.

Even though Katniss was affectionate when they were alone, he could sense her inner struggle. With the influx of more men in the camp – more competition - he wondered if she'd realized that she could do better than a man with a crippled leg. He knew that once they located the cave and extricated the gold out of it, she might end their courtship. Some days he wished they would never find it again.

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"Do you think you could help me with my baking? I'm falling behind," Peeta asked Katniss one day when they were returning from a hunt. "I can pay you for your time."

He wasn't quite sure how she'd react to his question. But she surprised him. "Of course." Then she frowned. "But you don't have to pay me. You go hunting ...well, I owe you for the time you've spent with me."

"You don't owe me anything Katniss. I wouldn't go hunting with you if I didn't want to…" his voice trailed off.

Vick who had overheard the conversation interrupted. "You can pay me Peeta."

Peeta laughed. He'd hoped that Vick wouldn't need to tag along if they were working in the camp. But clearly Vick had other ideas. He guessed he could probably find something for the boy to do.

As easily as that, Katniss reduced her hunting forays to a couple of times a week and began helping Peeta. He soon realized that he needed to expand his operation, so he invested in a second cooking stove and several more baking pans. This led to the reconfiguration of his outdoor kitchen.

He'd always been able to leave his supplies unguarded in the past, but one evening a sack of flour was stolen while he slept in the tent he and his brother shared at the other end of the camp. As a result, he convinced Rye to relocate their tent next to the outdoor kitchen. He filled it with sacks of flour, sugar, and other supplies.

Rye complained bitterly about it. "We're sleeping in a storeroom Peeta. You need to get a second tent."

Peeta agreed. He did need another place to store the supplies. But he wasn't thinking of a tent. He wanted a building. Thom had told him months ago that he should open a bakeshop in town. Peeta didn't think that location was the best. Except for visitors to the general store, most of the business in town took place after dark, when men were looking to relax at the saloon or brothel.

But the daily expansion of miners to Dirty District 12 meant customers, a lot of them. The smell of fresh baking bread was already luring many of them to his outdoor kitchen.

It was a big investment for him to purchase wood and hire a couple of men to build a small structure that he could use to both house supplies and as sleeping quarters. But when it was completed, he was pleased with the results. It was the only permanent structure in the camp.

"Are you getting married?" Rye asked him. "You have a place to live now."

Peeta shook his head. He wished he was confident enough to bring up the subject with Katniss, but he feared her rejection. If she refused him, he didn't know how what he would do - his feelings for her were so strong.

He was spending even more time with her now than when they were hunting every day. She'd taken quickly to helping him with his baking business, had even suggested he make meat pies, which proved to be popular with the miners.

She'd even agreed to accept payment from him for her work because she needed a way to earn money and she couldn't count on Sae anymore since that business had slowed down considerably.

Although Peeta longed for more with Katniss, it was easier to let her determine the pace of their relationship, so he said nothing.

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It was on one of their Sunday walks, when Katniss brought up looking for the cave again. Their hands were laced together as they wandered along. They'd stopped to sit at the base of a large oak, its green leaves fluttering in the soft breeze. Katniss leaned into Peeta's side. He'd put his arm around her shoulder.

"When can we look for the cave again Peeta?"

"Probably this week," he murmured. "If we bake extra tomorrow, we could take Tuesday off to look for it."

"Do you think we'll ever find it?" He could hear the frustration in her voice.

"I don't know," he sighed, before adding, "would it be so bad if we didn't?"

She turned to him in amazement.

"What do you mean?" she asked. "It would be foolish to simply give up. There could be a lot of gold in that cave."

"True, or it could be only a tiny pocket," he said. "I've heard some of the miners talking about such things. We might have gotten most of it out already."

She frowned. "We should find out though, before someone gets there first. They're so many more people out looking now."

Peeta frowned. He wanted to ask her what happens afterwards, when they had found the cave and worked the claim. What will become of them? He wished he wasn't such a coward. He wished he could tell her exactly how he felt about her, that he wanted a future with her.

Instead, he buried his face into the side of her neck and kissed her softly. As he pulled his head back, she turned to face him and gently captured his lips. It was a sweet kiss that she initiated. She broke away after a moment, smiling at him.

He couldn't help himself. In the moment, his voice dropped to a whisper. "I love you."

The surprise was apparent on her face. "I know," Katniss replied, a little too quickly. Her face rapidly turned pink. "And you…you know what you are to me." She was flustered, like she didn't know what to say.

Peeta swallowed his disappointment. He was a fool. It had been a mistake to say anything. "We should go back now."

He helped her up and they walked back to camp. Katniss reached for his hand but was silent. He wanted to say something, anything, but he didn't know what to say. Every time he took a step closer, Katniss pushed him back. Yes, he'd made some progress. She was holding his hand right now; she hadn't stormed off after he'd told her how he felt.

But still, he wondered how long he would have to wait for her feelings to match up with his. If it ever would happen. If she even had any feelings for him.

When they arrived back at the campsite, it was obvious something had occurred. Gale and Madge had already returned from their walk and the families were hugging Madge and slapping Gale on the back.

"Katniss," Prim's voice called out. "Gale and Madge are getting married. We're going to be related now."

Peeta saw the shock on Katniss' face. But she quickly regained his composure. Her hand slipped out of his and she ran toward her cousin to hug him. She said something, Peeta couldn't hear and Gale laughed. Then Katniss ran to Madge and hugged her tightly.

Peeta stood frozen in place. They've just met, he thought. I've known Katniss far longer. But he shook the thoughts from his mind as he went forward to congratulate the newly engaged couple.

Later, that evening he and his brother discussed the upcoming wedding while sitting in Peeta's new sleeping quarters in the bakeshop. Peeta had recently moved out of the tent he had shared with his brother and into his new building so that he could stand watch over his supplies. Meanwhile, a new miner to the camp, an Irishman named Finnick Odair, was bunking with Rye.

"They hardly know each other," Peeta fumed to his brother.

Rye laughed. "A bit jealous Peet. There's no reason you couldn't do the same."

Except that Katniss isn't interested in me like that, he thought.

"I have to say, I'm not that surprised about it," Rye said. "With that mother of Gale's, a minister's daughter is probably the only eligible girl in these parts she'd ever approve of. I tell you it would be awful to be living with Mom in this camp."

The thought of his mother living in the mining camp and telling him how to live his life seemed so absurd that Peeta burst out laughing. "I guess we do have something to be thankful for," he admitted.

"I think he's marrying her to get out from under his mother's thumb," Rye added. "She seems to call the shots. Madge is kind of quiet. I can't see her bossing Gale around."

"But do you think he has…well, feelings for her," Peeta asked. "They just met."

Rye hooted. "I'm sure he feels something for her."

Immediately Peeta thought back to Gale walking off to Effie's house, tickling the girl at his side. He guessed he knew what kind of feelings Rye thought Gale had for Madge.

"Why would she agree to such a hasty courtship?" Peeta wondered.

"You never know about women," Rye surmised. "They can fall in love at the drop of a hat."

Except for Katniss, Peeta thought. "Do you think Madge loves him?"

Rye snorted. "Not everyone is as big a sap as you."

Peeta glared at him.

"Wait, I take it back," Rye went on. "This Finnick fellow that I bunk with is a lot worse. He's spending all his money at Effie's place. He's sweet on one of the new girls there. It'd be funny really, if it wasn't so damn sad."

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Peeta was concerned about how he and Katniss would interact the next day as they went about their baking together. But he didn't have to worry. Katniss acted as she always had, as if he'd never said anything about loving her at all. This irritated him. It was as if she was dismissing his feelings entirely.

They did extra baking that day so they could spend the next day looking for the cave. They set out early the following morning with the horse and cart. Katniss took her bow, arrows, and game bag along so she could do some hunting as well. They needed some excuse so Vick wouldn't get suspicious.

Peeta was determined to find the cave, even if he had to stay out until after dark. The gold claim was standing between Katniss and him. He needed it to be resolved one way or the other. Maybe then, he could figure out what to do. He was tired of playing games.

It didn't take long to get to the general area they'd been in when the snowstorm hit. They tried to retrace their steps as best they could.

"What do you think?" Katniss asked pointing toward a shadow on the hillside. "That might be it."

Peeta began walking toward it, with Katniss at his heels. She quickly caught up with him but stayed alongside him instead of sprinting ahead. There were some scattered rocks near one side of the opening. Maybe an animal had knocked them down.

As soon as they got within five feet of the entrance, Peeta knew this was their cave. He couldn't believe their luck. It looked so unassuming in the sunshine. This was the place where Katniss had finally opened up to him. Where he finally thought he might have a chance with the girl with the braid.

They stepped inside. Katniss gasped. Someone had clearly been here. Peeta's eyes flew to the wall where he and Katniss had dug out the two pieces of gold. It was smashed in. Clods of limestone lay on the ground. The hole was far larger than the one they'd dug out with his pocket knife.

Katniss stared at it in disbelief, her mouth hanging open.

"Someone beat us here," he said. "I'm sorry." There would be no happily ever after to this gold claim. It was a bust.

He turned and walked out of the cave. Katniss followed him, reaching for the pick he was holding.

"I want to see for myself," she said. She took it from him and rushed back into the cave, putting her hand into the hole and rubbing away the lose dirt. She swung the pick, trying to make the hole bigger. She worked at it for a half hour before giving up.

"You were right. It must have been a small pocket." She looked so sad and dejected that Peeta wanted to wrap his arms around her and tell her it didn't matter. But he didn't. Because it did matter. They had no reason to pretend to be courting any longer.

They slowly made their way back to the horse and cart. Vick was gone, probably scouting out more rocks. Katniss grabbed her bow, arrows, and gamebag. "I should probably hunt," she said, walking off.

Peeta sat on the back edge of the cart. He bent over and rested his head in his hands. He was so tired. He hadn't slept well for the past few nights, and his leg was already hurting. He wished he could go to sleep right now. He lay back in the cart and quickly dozed off. He woke to Vick's cries. He was disoriented for a moment. It was so bright when he opened his eyes. Where was he?

He stood up, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from when he heard Katniss yelling, as well. Despite the pain in his leg, he bolted off in the direction of their cries. He expected they were under attack of some kind and midway there he realized he didn't have a weapon of any sort. But he continued. He was nearly breathless when he reached them.

Vick was holding a large rock, which was flattened a bit on one side. Katniss had a smaller rock and was bashing it into Vick's rock.

"Peeta, I found gold." The boy was jubilant. His grin nearly split his face.

Katniss turned to Peeta. "I hit it with a rock and it flattened, just like you said it does."

Instantly his memory flashed to that day he'd showed Katniss the flattened piece of gold and she'd kissed his cheek. He put the remembrance from his mind as he turned to Vick.

The boy handed him the rock he'd found. It was a fair sized stone, much bigger than any gold nugget he'd ever seen. "How did you find it?" he asked Vick.

"I was trying to dig out these rocks, he pointed to the rocky ground they stood on, and this was the first one I got up. I brushed off the dirt and turned it over, and… well, it was gold-colored. I guess Jaime was right, there is gold in the ground," he added as an afterthought.

Peeta nodded. At least someone got rich today.

Everyone was quiet on the trip back to camp, lost in their thoughts. Even though his leg was throbbing, Peeta walked next the horse and led it back. He didn't want to ride behind Katniss on the horse. The thought of being that close to her was unbearable. He wasn't angry with her. She had the right to her feelings, but he was sad.

He didn't think he could ever return to simply being her friend. Now he understood his older brother's pain. It was not good. And worse was the fact that Katniss worked with him at his bakeshop. He'd still be spending so much time with her. What was he going to do?

When they arrived back at camp, he heard the commotion coming from the Hawthorne campsite. Instead of joining them he went into his bakeshop and closed the door. He opened his bottle of whiskey and took a few sips. Yes, his leg hurt but so did his heart. After a few more swigs from the bottle, he didn't feel anything.

**Author's Notes: The Irish Potato famine, which occurred between 1845 -1852, was a period of mass starvation and disease in Ireland. It led to the emigration of many people from that country to the United States. Some of those Irishmen headed for the goldfields to seek their fortune.**

**Vick's discovery was based on the true story of a 12-year-old boy who found a stone worth $17,000 in 1849.**


	15. Chapter 15 - A Wedding

**Chapter 15 – A Wedding**

When Peeta had whispered that he loved her, Katniss was caught by surprise. She uttered the worst possible response, "I know." Immediately, she knew it sounded terrible. Like she assumed he couldn't help loving her, but that she didn't feel anything in return. Of course she felt something; she could hardly stop thinking about him.

The next day she acted like nothing had happened because she didn't know what to do. Should she apologize for her stupid response and tell him that she had similar feelings? That despite her promise to herself, even though it went against everything she'd ever thought she wanted, she'd fallen in love with him.

She noticed immediately that he had reined in his feelings toward her. The smiles, the small touches on her arm or shoulder, the silly comments and jokes. All of it was gone. It was as if he was willing himself to fall out-of-love with her.

It hurt – more than she wanted to admit. But she knew that she deserved his rejection. She had been responding eagerly to his kisses, even initiating kisses, all the while taking his feelings completely for granted. She felt awful, as if she was using him in some terrible way. No wonder he was upset. She was upset with herself, as well.

Someone jumping their claim was very disappointing because in the back of her mind she had fantasized about all the ways she could help her family with the gold. But she didn't _need_ the gold; her family was surviving fine without it. Miners were joining their camp daily. Her mother was making good money as a laundress; Prim was earning a respectable amount mending torn clothing and darning holey socks.

Worse, however, was the knowledge that now Peeta had no reason to court her. He had been the real gold in her life, not the claim, and now she'd lost him, too.

While everyone in her family was excited about the Gale's and Madge's upcoming nuptials, and Vick's astounding discovery, Katniss was sad, almost numb.

She found herself jealous over the wedding, which was being held Sunday. According to Aunt Hazelle, the reverend was ready to travel to the various mining camps throughout the gold fields and preach. He didn't want to take Madge. It would be better, if she were to stay behind, that she be married. Hence, the reason for a short engagement. Still, to Katniss, it didn't seem right since the couple had known each other for only a little over a month. She'd known Peeta for so much longer.

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The day after they re-located the cave, Katniss didn't want to go work at the bakeshop. But she didn't have much choice. If she told her mother she was ill, she'd be doused with some kind of herbal concoction and she didn't want to spend the day stuck inside the tent resting.

Might as well get it over with, she thought as she and Vick headed for the outdoor kitchen. Peeta was in a grumpy mood when they arrived. He complained about them being late, and then put them to work kneading dough, while he was mixing up flour, yeast, and water for new batches.

Katniss was concentrating her efforts on punching the dough and thinking of how she could explain her response to Peeta when she heard a woman's voice call out.

"Peeta, I want to buy some of your bread."

Katniss looked up quickly to see Delly sashaying along. Her hair was hanging in ringlets down her back and she was wearing a bright green calico dress. She was carrying an empty basket.

"Good to see you Delly." Peeta grinned at her, his sour mood disappearing. "How many loaves would you like?"

"Oh four would be nice," she trilled.

Delly pulled some gold nuggets from her pouch and paid for the bread. Peeta gave her two more loaves and asked her to give them to Haymitch. "He'll know what they're for," Peeta told her.

She nodded. "I haven't seen you in town for a while," she complained.

"I've been busy here with my new bakeshop."

Delly eyed the building. "It's impressive. You should have opened it in town, though, so I wouldn't have to walk so far to buy bread."

Katniss scowled. That Delly was awfully flirtatious. Peeta seemed to be just as friendly in return. She wondered if he were doing it on purpose for her to hear or if he was genuinely glad to see Delly. She remembered Delly's comments regarding Peeta being nervous around her. He didn't seem nervous to Katniss at all.

"Who's this?" Rye said, smiling as he exited his nearby tent.

Katniss wondered why Rye wasn't at the river yet, almost all the other miners had left nearly an hour earlier.

Delly turned to Rye. "I don't know you."

"I'm Rye Mellark, Peeta's brother. Are you new to Dirty District 12?"

Delly squealed. "I live in town with my Aunt Effie."

Rye's eyebrows rose. He licked his lips. "Well, that certainly must be interesting."

Delly nodded.

"Maybe you know the fellow I bunk with, Finnick Odair. He's been spending a lot of time at your aunt's establishment."

Delly smiled. "We all know Finnick. He's so sweet. He's in love with Annie."

She lowered her voice. "I think Annie loves him, too. It's such a tragic story really. Annie is from France. Her parents died and she had no family left, so she took the last of her money and came to America for a better future. But she couldn't find work in New York.

"Then she saw an advertisement offering employment for women in California. But when she got to San Francisco, she found out that it was a false advertisement. She had no way to pay her passage so a kindly gentleman paid it for it, then sold her contract to my aunt. She's working to pay off her contract."

Katniss saw a flash of horror cross both Peeta and Rye's face. She was sure her face looked much the same.

"That's white slavery," Rye gulped.

"No, it's not," Delly explained sweetly. "My aunt is providing a way for Annie to earn the money to pay for her travel expenses. She's free to go once she pays up."

After Delly said her goodbyes, Peeta asked Rye to go into the bakeshop so they could speak privately. Katniss couldn't hear what was said. It sounded like some kind of argument, though.

Then Rye came out yelling. "You are a damned fool," he shouted as headed toward the river.

Katniss wondered what they were arguing about. Peeta stayed inside for a few more minutes before coming outside to continue mixing up batches of dough.

The next couple of days were the same. Peeta barely spoke to Katniss except to give her instructions. It would have been more awkward except that Vick couldn't shut up about all the things he was going to do when he cashed in his golden rock. When he started talking about the cattle ranch he was going to buy, Katniss had to bite her lip to stop from laughing. She glanced up at Peeta and saw him smirking. Their eyes met for a moment, until he quickly looked away, as if he had remembered he suddenly wanted nothing more to do with her.

On Saturday, Peeta went into town, leaving Katniss and Vick behind to make bread. Katniss wondered what he was doing there – visiting with his good friend Delly, she suspected. When he returned later whistling, with a glass container filled with butter, she knew she was right.

He put the butter into a mixing bowl, then added sugar and began to stir furiously to make the frosting. When it was done, he decorated the carefully stacked cake layers he'd baked the previous day.

It was quiet, absorbing work. From the table where she was kneading dough, Katniss watched his hands as he worked, making the plain cake into a fancy one for the wedding. His face took on a special look when he concentrated. His usual expression was replaced by something more intense that suggested an entire world locked away inside him.

A sharp pain stabbed at her as she again realized what she'd lost.

It was late in the day, when he finished. He covered the cake with a clean cloth and set it on a shelf in the bakeshop.

"You can go now," he told Katniss and Vick. They'd baked enough loaves to last for the next couple of days, at least.

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Gale and Madge's wedding was held immediately after the church service the next day. Madge had asked Katniss to stand as her witness, as she had no female relatives in the camp. She wore a pale pink gingham dress, while Katniss wore her best dress, the one that had gotten drenched in the rain on New Year's Eve. Gale was dressed in his father's suit, while his best man Rory was wearing a clean shirt.

Many men in the camp came to watch the couple recite their vows, even those who didn't know Madge or Gale. A wedding was like another piece of home, something many of the miners missed so desperately. A wedding also meant a meal would follow. The miners brought their own liquor with them. Most suspected that liquor wouldn't be offered, because of Hazelle's reputation as a supporter of temperance and Madge being the daughter of a minister.

One of the men had a fiddle and began to play. Because there were so few women, Katniss, Prim and Posy danced every dance. Even Katniss' mother and her aunt danced a few reels with boys young enough to be their sons. Still, many of the miners ended up dancing with other men.

Peeta never asked Katniss to dance, though. She guessed it was because he was still upset with her, or maybe he wouldn't dance because of his leg. She wanted to speak with him privately but she never saw him alone. He moved from group to group talking and joking with the miners.

The party lasted until the early evening, when Madge and Gale retired to her father's tent. Reverend Undersee would be bunking with Rory and Vick until he left to go preaching.

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"Your wedding is next Katniss," Prim said as they readied themselves for sleep.

Kantiss shook her head. "I don't think there will be a wedding," she said grimly.

"But Peeta has been courting you for months now," Prim insisted. "There has to be."

But Katniss didn't reply.

Her mother, who had overheard the conversation, chimed in. "Did something happen between you and Peeta. He hasn't been visiting in the evenings this week."

Kantiss shook her head. She didn't want to talk about this with her mother and Prim because it meant telling them about the secrets she'd kept from them – like the gold claim, and the fake courtship and her promise to herself to never fall in love. She thought they'd be hurt, maybe even angry with her.

Instead, she climbed into her bedroll and pulled the blanket over her head. She wanted to sleep. But she couldn't. Her mother and Prim were soon slumbering, the gentle hum of her mother's snores competing with the softer sighs of sister's even breathing.

Over and over in head she replayed her foolish response to Peeta's admission that he loved her. She'd clearly hurt him. She had to set things right. She couldn't lose him.

She wanted to tell him exactly how she felt. But when? With Vick around they never had any privacy, not for the type of conversation they needed to have. She should go now, wake him up and tell him, before she lost her courage.

She had no idea what time it was. An hour earlier she had heard some miners laughing and talking as they made their way back from town – probably from a visit to Effie's house. But it was quiet now – a good time to sneak out. She got up and dressed quickly, having to feel her way around the dark tent for her clothes.

The night air was cool and she drew her shawl tightly around herself, as she headed for the bakeshop. Fortunately, the moon was bright enough to light the way.

When she arrived, she timidly knocked on the closed door. No answer. She didn't want to knock louder because she didn't want to wake up any of the men in the neighboring tents. She pushed at the door. It was unbolted. She slowly stepped into the darkened room. She left the door open so that the moon could light the room.

Peeta's sleeping form was straight ahead of her, against the wall. His back was turned, his face covered by his blanket. But she could see his blonde hair. She slowly walked over to him, kneeling on the dirt floor behind him.

"Peeta," she whispered. She gently tapped at his back. She heard him moan in his sleep. She tapped him again. She felt him startle awake, but he didn't turn to face her. He seemed to freeze in place.

"I'm sorry," she blurted out. Her voice was quiet. "When you said you loved me, I panicked. I didn't tell you how I really feel. I love you Peeta. Please don't be angry with me."

She waited for a response, but he remained frozen in place.

Hesitantly, she continued. "It doesn't matter about the gold claim. I don't care about that. But I don't want to lose you."

From the other side of the room, Katniss heard a rustle, and then Peeta called her name.

Startled, she stood up quickly. To whom had she been confessing? The blonde head turned to face her. In the moonlight, she saw Rye. He was smirking.

She inhaled deeply. This was awful. She turned to run out of the room, but Peeta was standing in the open doorway blocking her exit. The blood rushed to her face. Her cheeks were warm. She looked down, fiddling with the end of the shawl.

No one said anything for a minute or so. Then Rye broke the silence. "So Peetie, do you often have nighttime visitors?"

"Be quiet Rye," Peeta ordered.

"What are you doing here Katniss?" His voice was softer now. He sounded half asleep. But of course he was. It was the middle of the night.

"Didn't you catch all that?" Rye asked sarcastically. "She loves you, it seems. But I'd like to hear more about that gold claim."

"I thought you were alone," Katniss said in a voice barely above a whisper.

"He would be if he wasn't so damn kind-hearted," Rye said.

"That's enough Rye," Peeta hissed. "Shut up before I kick you out."

"Kick me out?" Rye's voice rose. "To go where? You already gave our tent away to Finnick and his lady."

What? Wasn't Finnick in love with a prostitute? Did he bring her into the camp? And what did Peeta have to do with it?

"I should go," Katniss said. She hoped Peeta would step aside so she could leave, but he didn't move. Instead he grabbed at her forearm.

"Wait, we need to talk. Let me get my shoes."

He bent down to grab at his boots, which were sitting nearby. He picked them up, and then guided her outside. He stopped for a moment, sitting on a tree stump to put them on and double-knot the laces. Then he stood up, taking her hand and pulling her along.

The camp was silent now, except for the occasional cough from a tent. To Katniss, it looked so different, so peaceful than in the daylight. It seemed like another world entirely. They walked along the main dirt thoroughfare of the camp towards its outer edge.

"Now what was that you were saying before my brother startled you?" Peeta asked. His voice was low. "Something about…you love me…best thing that ever happened to you…"

"I don't remember that last part," Katniss said, hoping Peeta didn't notice her red face in the moonlight.

"Oh that's right. That's what _I _was thinking," he said. "Come nearer. It's cold and I didn't put on my coat." He put his arm around her shoulder.

Katniss wrapped her arm around his waist. It was closer than they ever been while walking but it was dark and no one was awake to see them, at least she hoped not.

"Why did you come in to me in the middle of the night?" Peeta asked

"I had to talk to you," she said. "I didn't know when we could talk without Vick being there. I didn't know Rye was staying with you."

"Yes, he'll be bunking in the bakeshop for a while."

She frowned. "What did your brother mean about Finnick and that woman?"

"Finnick was able to pay off her contract, so she could quit working for Effie."

"Oh." Katniss wondered how Finnick had suddenly come into the money. Maybe he'd been lucky in his search for gold.

They continued to walk now, slowing down as they reached the last of the tents in the camp.

"We should go back," Peeta said. But instead of guiding her back, he stopped and turned toward Katniss, putting his other arm around her and hugging her to him for a moment. "Am I dreaming?" he asked, leaning his forehead against hers.

"No, it's real, Peeta. I'm real," she said, as she pulled back to look into his eyes, hoping that her glance could convey all her feelings that she couldn't find the words to say.

He leaned in and pressed his warm lips to hers. She wrapped her arms around him and clung to him as they melted into each other. As their kisses continued she felt a warm and curious feeling that left her wanting more. She lost all track of time and had a sudden urge to drop to the ground and pull Peeta down on top of her, when he pulled away dazed. She let out a tiny moan, frustrated that he had stopped kissing her. She wished she could explore the feeling further, to see where it would lead. But as she came to her senses, she realized they were standing in a dirt road at the far end of the camp in the middle of the night. Much as she would have liked their kisses to continue, it wasn't the time or the place.

"I need to take you back. Now." Peeta's voice was hoarse.

He took her arms off of her and placed one hand on her back to propel her in the direction of her family's tent.

Before they started walking though, he put his mouth against her ear and spoke. "I need to know if you're serious about us, Katniss. Because I'm serious about you. That should have been our wedding yesterday."

The vibration of his voice on her ear sent shivers down her spine. But the words he spoke, had an even greater impact. Her heart thumped rapidly in her chest. She'd secretly thought the same thing. That's why she been so jealous when she'd first heard about Gale and Madge's engagement. It should have been Peeta and her.

She almost blurted out, "I know," but caught herself, not wanting to remind him of her stupid response the previous week. "I am serious Peeta," she replied. "I do love you."

He walked her to her family's tent, and kissed her chastely. "Get some sleep," he whispered. She went inside and lay down on her bedroll. She knew that she'd be awake for the remainder of the night.

**Author's Note: In the early 18****th**** and 19****th**** centuries white slavery was the term used for sexual enslavement of white women. During the California Gold Rush, some women who traveled to California did not pay the passage for their trip. Typically these women were euphemistically labeled as `entertainers.' When they reached California, the cost of their passage was typically paid by the women agreeing to work for at least three to six months. These women were taken to work at saloons, gambling halls, dance halls, peep shows and brothels until they could pay off their passage. Sometimes the ship's captain sold the woman to the highest bidder.**


	16. Chapter 16 - Joy Comes In The Morning

**Chapter 16 – Joy Comes In The Morning**

When Peeta got back to the bakeshop, he was glad to see that Rye had fallen asleep. He wrapped himself in his bedroll, wondering at what had just occurred. He had spent the last week feeling sorry for himself over Katniss' lack of feelings for him. Other than when he'd realized that his leg would never be normal again, it was the worst week of his life.

When he'd heard Delly talking a few days ago about Annie, the woman Finnick loved, it had jolted him out of his pitiful mood. Annie's situation was far worse than anything he had ever experienced. The French woman had been tricked into becoming a prostitute.

He suddenly realized that while he couldn't do anything to change the situation between himself and Katniss, he could bring about a positive change for Annie and Finnick. He could raise the money to pay off her contract with Effie. Rye had called him a fool when he suggested it. But the more he thought about it the more determined he became.

He had spoke with Effie when he went into town to get the butter to make the frosting for the wedding cake. She'd been surprised at his suggestion, but admitted that Annie wasn't bringing in any business because Finnick had been lingering around making a nuisance of himself telling every miner that visited her establishment that Annie was his true love and begging them not to ask for her.

Peeta had spent the entire time at Gale's and Madge's wedding visiting with the guests and asking them to contribute. Given that many of them were feeling sentimental and perhaps slightly drunk, he had no problem collecting the entire amount. When he had it all, he found Finnick, and told him everything. The bronze-haired man had literally jumped for joy.

While the wedding celebration was winding down, Peeta and Finnick rode to town and paid off Annie's contract. She had packed her possessions into a small satchel and climbed up on the horse to ride back with Finnick.

Despite his sadness over Katniss, Peeta was glad that someone else would have happiness in love. Rye was probably the only one unhappy about the situation, because he'd been forced out of the tent, and was bunking with his brother in the bakeshop until Finnick could gather enough gold to purchase a tent of his own.

For the first time in days, Peeta had fallen asleep happy. When Katniss had arrived in the bakeshop, he naturally thought it was a dream. Because how could it possibly be real? But it had been.

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Peeta got up early the next morning, hoping to avoid his brother. He knew Rye would want to talk about Katniss' nighttime visit and Peeta didn't want to have that conversation with him. It was too personal.

But Rye sought him out while he was making dough. "Interesting evening," he commented.

When Peeta didn't respond, he continued. "Tell me about this gold claim."

Peeta frowned. There wasn't any gold. It would probably be all right to talk about it. So he told Rye about finding gold in the cave wall.

Rye whistled when Peeta pulled the flattened lump from his pocket to show him.

"Are you sure it's been tapped out?" his brother asked.

Peeta nodded. "As far as I could tell. Someone dug the rest of it out."

"That's a shame," Rye said. "So that's why you were courting her?"

"Not exactly," Peeta hedged.

"You don't have to spell it out," Rye snorted. "I know you too well Peeta. But if you want her in there," he pointed toward the bakeshop, "then you need to get Finnick and Annie out of my tent."

Peeta frowned. Some changes needed to be made and he was the one who had to initiate them. He should talk with Katniss' mother today.

Throughout the day, he kept stealing glances at Katniss, hardly believing that she had said she loved him. Occasionally he caught her staring at him. When he met her eyes, she smiled and then shyly looked away. For once he was grateful for Vick's nonstop prattling.

After dinner that evening, Peeta and Rye went to the Everdeen/Hawthorne campsite. Peeta was surprised to see Gale there. He'd only been married one day. Surely he'd want to spend his evening with his new bride. But here he was playing cards. It seemed strange, especially when he considered that Finnick and Annie still hadn't left the tent.

But when he asked about Mrs. Everdeen, Hazelle told him that she was with Madge who was feeling poorly and was resting in her tent. Frustrated, Peeta joined the card game. But he couldn't concentrate. He kept glancing at Katniss who was biting her lower lip as she knit. She must have had problems concentrating as well, because before too long Prim made Katniss unravel most of her work.

He'd have to find Katniss' mother the following day. He needed to talk with her.

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He went looking for Mrs. Everdeen right after breakfast, even before Katniss and Vick arrived to work at the bakeshop. He caught her as she was leaving to check on Madge, so he accompanied her as she walked to the other end of the camp. He immediately told her that he loved Katniss and wanted to ask for her hand in marriage.

Mrs. Everdeen stopped. "Reverend Undersee will be leaving tomorrow to begin his preaching circuit. He doesn't plan to return for at least six months. I think the wise choice would be to get married this afternoon. Six months would be an awfully long time for the two of you to wait." She stared at him pointedly.

Peeta gulped. Mrs. Everdeen was clearly referring to something but he didn't know what it could be. He wondered if Katniss had told her mother about their late night rendezvous the other evening, although he didn't think that was likely.

Get married today? This was more than he'd ever imagined. Then he remembered. "My brother is staying in the bakeshop with me. We're letting Finnick and his…Annie use our tent."

Mrs. Everdeen frowned. "Your brother could bunk with Vick and Rory, I guess. I'll speak to Hazelle."

Peeta escorted her to Madge's tent, and then walked back thoughtfully. He needed to speak with Katniss. Although he'd said that he loved her and that it should have been their wedding a few days earlier, he hadn't asked her to marry him.

What if she wasn't ready yet? If she wanted to wait, he understood. It would be difficult for him to wait six months, but he didn't want to pressure her to do something she wasn't ready to do.

She and Vick were already at work mixing dough when he arrived at the bakeshop.

"Where were you Peeta?" Vick asked.

"Busy," Peeta replied. "Can I speak with you for a minute Katniss?" He motioned for her to step inside the bakeshop.

She looked puzzled, but she followed him inside.

"I know this is a sudden, well, very sudden but I just found out Reverend Undersee is leaving tomorrow for six months." He licked his lips. Suddenly his mouth was so dry. He was so nervous. His heart was pounding.

"If you're willing to marry me, we can do it today, before he leaves. I already spoke to your mother about it."

She didn't answer. Instead, her eyes grew big and her mouth dropped open in amazement.

A rush of panic washed over him. She wasn't ready yet. She was offended that he spoke to her mother first. Maybe she never intended to marry him at all.

"I don't want to rush you," he murmured. "We can wait." His voice dropped. "That is if you even want to get married."

She finally nodded. "I do Peeta," she said softly. "I will marry you. But today?"

"We can wait," he murmured pulling her close and hugging her.

"You asked my mother?" She lifted her head from his chest and looked up at him.

"She was the one who suggested it."

Katniss pulled back. "Are you certain? It seems very odd. I need to talk with her." She left quickly for Madge's tent to find her mother.

Peeta went outside and began kneading dough with Vick. Katniss was gone for a long time. He wondered what was happening. Was her mother talking her into a wedding or out of one?

She looked dazed when she returned. Peeta bit at the inside of his cheek nervously, expecting to hear that the wedding was postponed, possibly indefinitely. Katniss glanced at Peeta and tipped her head in the direction of the bakeshop.

"Excuse me, Vick," Peeta said as he followed Katniss inside.

"I'll do it today," she said simply. "It's better this way."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, um, with the minister leaving …it's better not to wait," she muttered.

He didn't follow Kaniss' explanation, but he smiled at her answer.

He pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her.

"Are you happy?" he whispered into her ear.

He looked down to see a shy smile on her lips. "Yes."

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They were married after dinner near the river, as the sun was going down. The sky was bathed in an orange glow and the low roar of river provided a soothing background to their simple vows.

Both were dressed in their best clothes. Family surrounded them. Prim acted as Katniss' witness and Rye stood up for Peeta. They were glad for the privacy and the simplicity. Neither of them wanted to draw the attention of the other miners in the camp. They didn't want the drunken congratulations and the rowdiness of Gale's and Madge's wedding. They certainly didn't want to spend the entire night awake because the men decided to serenade them with a chivaree, like they'd done for Gale and Madge.

After the ceremony, everyone returned to the outdoor kitchen where Peeta served apple pie, and Katniss poured steaming cups of coffee. There was some polite conversation, but it quickly died as her family ate quickly, then made excuses to leave.

Peeta watched as Katniss hugged her sister and mother good-bye. Their tent was so close by that it seemed silly. She'd be seeing them every single day. But he understood that Katniss' marriage was a momentous, life-changing occasion for the Everdeen family.

When everyone had finally left, Peeta and Katniss washed the dishes and mugs in the moonlight, putting them away before retiring to the bakeshop. Peeta had a few candles set up around the room, which he had lit. But still, once they were inside with the door closed, the light was dim at best.

Peeta watched Katniss take in the surroundings of the living quarters, the sacks of flour and sugar lying in a heap in one corner, near a chest holding his clothing. Vick had helped Katniss move her belongings to the bakeshop earlier in the day. She didn't have much to bring. Most of it fit into a small wooden trunk, which now stood in the corner of the room. Her bow, arrows and game bag sat on top of it.

He spread a blanket across the dirt floor and helped Katniss place a quilt on top of it.

"I'll go into town tomorrow and see about getting a bed," he said awkwardly, sitting down on the edge of the blanket.

"This is fine Peeta, I'm used to sleeping on the ground anyway," Katniss replied. She sat down on the quilt and removed her shoes.

Peeta sat down on the other side of the quilt. He rubbed the back of his neck, and then unlaced his boots and removed them.

Katniss had been quiet since the wedding. He wondered if she regretted the hasty ceremony. He turned toward her. "Are you alright?"

Her face was pink. "I'm fine. I love you Peeta, but I when I woke up this morning I didn't expect to be married tonight."

He nodded. "I know what you mean. I was surprised when your mother suggested it."

Katniss scowled. "Well, she was worried."

"Worried. About what?"

"One of the miners saw us the other night. He told Rory and most of the men at the river about it."

Peeta grimaced. If the miner had saw them kissing, he had been treated to quite a display. Judging from what Peeta knew about the miners and how they liked to gossip, he imagined their private moment had been exaggerated considerably.

"Your brother told my cousins that I had visited here the other night. Based on that information and what the miner claimed he saw, well…they thought there might have been, well…other visits."

Warmth rushed to Peeta's face. "But it's not true." Why would his brother say anything? Rye could be so stupid, sometimes. No wonder Mrs. Everdeen had spoke in such a forthright fashion about getting married quickly.

"I know that," Katniss said. "I told my mother that I hadn't been visiting you at night. She believes me. But with all the rumors now and from before when we stayed overnight in the cave, and then…well, my mother told me about Madge…"

Her voice trailed off. She turned her head, as if embarrassed to say more.

"Katniss, what does Madge have to do with this?" Peeta asked.

She turned her head to look at him, biting at her lower lip. "Madge is having a baby."

He was puzzled. How was that possible? She'd only known Gale for a short time. What were they doing on their Sunday walks?

"It's not Gale's baby," Katniss said. "She was already expecting when she arrived in camp."

"She tricked Gale into marrying her when she's having another man's child?" Peeta was stunned.

"No," Katniss insisted. "Apparently she told Gale everything on that first walk. But that's why they got married so quickly, before the baby starts to show. No one is supposed to know. They only told my mother because she's a midwife and Madge was feeling sick. Anyway, my mother didn't want the same thing to happen to me."

"How would the same thing happen to you? We've never…"

She interrupted him. "We haven't. But if we have to wait several months to get married…well, my mother thinks …maybe it could. If it could happen to a minister's daughter…well, I guess it happens sometimes."

"Katniss, it wouldn't. I would never take advantage of you like that."

"I know you wouldn't Peeta," she said. "But my mother doesn't know you like I do. All she sees is a daughter who sneaks around at night to visit a man in his sleeping quarters. She hears the rumors, even from her own family. Madge's situation made all her worries seem more real."

Peeta frowned. "So you married me to avoid rumors and gossip?"

"No, Peeta," she insisted. "If anything, there will probably be even more gossip at our quick wedding, at least for a while. I don't care about it. This would have happened anyway. I need you."

She scooted across the quilt until she was almost on his lap and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face into his shoulder.

His arms wrapped around her and they held each other in a tight embrace, each of them breathing in the scent of the other.

She pulled her head back after a while and smiled at him. "I might have taken advantage of you, you know."

He chuckled nervously, and kissed the top of her head.

"Katniss, we don't have to…" he began, but she pulled back and placed her fingers over his mouth to stop him from speaking.

"I want this Peeta."

He could see the determined look in her grey eyes.

"I never wanted to fall in love in with anyone until I met you. And even then I tried hard to resist it. But...you won me over."

Dazed by her confession, he slowly began to remove the pins that were holding her braid in a bun. Once the braid was down, he slowly unthreaded it, combing it through with his fingers until her hair hung loosely across her back.

He could hardly believe she was his now. "I love you," he whispered, pulling her onto his lap.

Their kisses started slow and gentle, but grew deeper and more frantic as they continued. After a long time he got up and blew out the candles. Much later, they drifted to asleep in an exhausted heap.

**Author's Note: A chivaree was a noisy serenade – the banging of pots and pans - that friends and family provided for a newly married couple on their wedding night. **

**It's estimated that ten percent of all brides in the United States in the mid-nineteenth century were pregnant on their wedding day.**


	17. Chapter 17 - Newlyweds

**Chapter 17 - Newlyweds**

Light snuck through the wooden planks that made up the walls of the small room. Immediately Katniss knew something was different. She was naked and pressed up against someone's warm flesh. It wasn't Prim.

Then she remembered the previous evening. Peeta. She smiled when she thought about where that warm and curious feeling had led. She moved her arm over his side, resting her hand over his heart to feel its steady, reassuring beat.

He groaned and she pulled her arm away quickly as he rolled onto his back, and then sat up.

"Good morning," he said, his voice hoarse with sleep. He rubbed his eyes.

"Morning," she said shyly. She pulled the blanket up to her neck and wrapped it tightly around her. She could see him smirking at her.

"It's already light. I must have overslept." He leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Better get up, we have bread to bake."

Katniss sat up pulling the blanket close around her. She planned to wait for Peeta to leave before she dressed. She watched him stand up, admiring the strong muscles in his back as he turned away to put his clothes on. Once he was dressed, he turned back to face her.

"Aren't you getting up?" he asked, gathering up her clothes, which had been scattered around the room from the previous evening, and handing them to her.

"Yes," she murmured, her face growing warm.

"Alright then," he said, gruffly, as if he suddenly understood that she didn't want him to see her unclothed in the early morning light. "I'll start the fire," he said, leaving the bakeshop and closing the door behind him.

She dressed quickly, and then folded up the top quilt and bottom blanket and set them on the trunk that held Peeta's clothing. It took longer to comb through her hair because it was in knots. Once it was smooth, she braided it, then pinned it up.

There were already a few miners outside the bakeshop when she exited it. A few hoots and whistles greeted her. She didn't realize Peeta had customers this early in the day. He quickly sold out of the loaves they'd made the previous afternoon.

"Congratulations," one miner greeted her. He was a handsome fellow with hair like bronze and a devilish glint in his eye. "I hear you and Peeta tied the knot."

She nodded, wondering who he was. She looked at Peeta with a puzzled face.

"Katniss, this is Finnick Odair."

She nodded. So this was the Irishman who had taken over Rye and Peeta's tent. She wondered about his Annie. What was the woman going to do all day while Finnick searched for gold? Would she join him at the river, too?

As if reading her mind, Finnick turned to Peeta. "Do you mind if I borrow your wife for a moment, I'd like to introduce her to Annie."

Peeta nodded, while Katniss savored Finnick's description of her as `Peeta's wife.' It had a nice ring to it.

She followed Finnick to the nearby tent. "Annie, we have company," he called out before leading her inside. A thin girl, with a face like an angel, and long wavy brown hair, sat on the ground. She looked nervously at Katniss.

"Hello," Katniss greeted her. She wondered how much English Annie spoke.

Annie nodded toward her.

Finnick introduced the two women and then exited the tent, leaving Katniss in the awkward position of having to start the conversation. She wasn't good at this sort of thing. Besides what could they talk about? It's not like she and a former prostitute would have much in common.

"We're neighbors," she said to Annie. "I live in the bakeshop next door...well, since last night anyways. I got married yesterday to Peeta, the baker."

She wondered if the woman understood a single thing she'd said, but then she noticed her eyes light up.

"You got married yesterday?" Annie asked, a faint accent apparent in her voice. "Is there a priest in this camp then?"

Katniss shook her head. Annie was French. She was probably Catholic. "No, not a priest, a minister. But he's leaving today."

"Has he left yet?" Annie asked.

"I don't know."

Annie stood up. "We need to find him. I want to get married to Finnick," she said passionately. "We cannot continue ...like this," she stopped to wave her arms around the tent, "without being married."

"Come with me then," Katniss said. "He was staying with my cousins. He may still be there."

Annie followed Katniss out of the tent. Finnick and Peeta were drinking coffee and eating. Katniss waved at Peeta and called, "I'll be right back."

On their walk, Annie told Katniss about Peeta's role in raising the money to pay off her debt to Effie.

"Peeta is a good man," Annie said solomnly.

Amazed at Annie's tale, Kantiss nodded, not knowing how to respond. She only knew that if she lived a hundred lifetimes she'd never deserve him.

The two women soon arrived quickly at Katniss' family's campsite. It was late, but everyone was still there eating breakfast. Maybe they had all slept in, too.

"Back so soon Katniss?" Rory called out. "You haven't changed your mind, have you?"

She glared at her cousin, ignoring his comment. "Did Reverend Undersee leave yet?"

Rory shook his head. "He's packing right now."

Katniss hurried to the tent he was sharing with her cousins. "Reverend Undersee," she called out. "Could we speak with you?"

Within a few minutes Katniss and Annie had convinced the preacher to return with them to the outdoor kitchen to perform yet another wedding. When Katniss and Annie arrived with the reverend in tow, Peeta broke out into a big grin and started laughing.

"It's your lucky day Finnick," Peeta said, as the Irishman choked on his coffee.

Katniss thought Finnick's eyes resembled those of prey caught in a snare. He stepped to the side to speak with Annie privately, but no amount of talking could change her mind. The Frenchwoman was determined to become an honest woman and be wed to Finnick Odair.

Eventually he gave in, and Reverend Undersee performed a brief ceremony for the two of them. After the reverend had left to finish his packing, Finnick attempted to sweet talk his new bride back into the tent.

"No," Annie shouted. "Go to the river and find some gold. I want a fine house like Peeta and Katniss."

Finnick glared at Katniss. "Stay away from my wife," he muttered. "She doesn't need to get any more ideas from you."

Katniss laughed. Finnick went inside the tent, grabbed his pan and stomped off to the river.

"Have you eaten yet Annie?" Peeta asked.

"No," she admitted.

"Well sit down, you too Katniss. I'll make you both breakfast."

A short time later, both women were enjoying coffee, bacon, and biscuits. "What are your plans for work?" Katniss asked Annie as they lingered over their coffee.

"I don't know," Annie murmured. "What is there to do here?"

Katniss explained that since the miners were mainly all young men, they needed women to do some of the same tasks their mothers provided for them at home. "Things like laundering their clothes, darning their socks, or baking their bread."

"I am a good seamstress," Annie said softly. "I worked at it in my village in France."

"You should do that, then," Katniss suggested. "My sister also does mending. I can take you to meet her."

She looked back at Peeta who was busy mixing up batches of dough, setting the loaves out to rise on the counter before baking.

"Peeta, I promise I'll be right back," she called. "I'm not trying to get out of working today."

"Take your time," he said as he put a loaf pan into the oven.

She and Annie left to see Prim, but Katniss soon returned alone.

"Where's Annie?" Peeta asked.

"With my sister. Prim had a pile of clothing to mend. Annie offered to help."

Katniss washed her hands in the bucket before grabbing some dough from the mixing bowl and pounding it into the floured counter. "I like her Peeta, she seems nice."

"She's certainly keeping Finnick in line," Peeta joked as he pulled one brown loaf out of the oven and replaced it with an uncooked one.

"I guess so," she said, forming the dough into the shape of a loaf. "Hey, where is Vick today? He still has a job here, doesn't he?"

"Well, not as a chaperone," Peeta laughed. "But he's turning into a fair baker. He came by earlier, but I gave him the day off." He pulled the last bit of dough from the bowl and began to knead it on the flour-dusted tabletop. "Anyway, I need to go to town to see about a bed. Maybe you'd like to go with me."

She turned to nod at him, her face growing even warmer in the sunshine as she thought of sleeping next to him in a bed, of the things they could do in a bed. Her memories of last night seemed like a dream.

He leaned over and kissed her cheek, startling her from her thoughts.

"You sort of drifted off there," Peeta said. "What are you thinking about?"

"You," she said calmly. "In a bed."

He was the one who turned pink now.

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It took nearly six weeks for the new bed to be delivered to Thom's store. It traveled all the way from a store in San Francisco. Thom said it had originally come by ship around Cape Horn. Once it arrived, Thom put it in his wagon and delivered it to Dirty District 12. He helped Peeta set up it up in the tiny living quarters of the bakeshop. It took up nearly the entire room. Once the brass frame was put together and the thin cotton-stuffed mattress placed on top, Katniss quickly made it up.

When Thom finally left, after Peeta gave him a loaf of bread and a meat pie to thank him for delivering it, they closed the door of the living quarters. Although it was mid-afternoon and there was still work to be done, they laid down on it to see if it was comfortable.

Neither of them had slept in a bed since they had left Oregon.

"Oh this is so wonderful," Katniss said. "So much better than the ground."

The bed was small and their bodies were touching as they lay together on their backs. Both of them turned onto their sides to face the other. The shrill squeak of the metal springs that held the mattress in place noted their change of position.

"Thank you Peeta," Katniss said, leaning her head forward to playfully kiss him on the chin. She pulled her head back and he leaned forward to kiss the tip of her nose, before extending his arm around her, pulling her tight to his chest.

As he held her there, Katniss closed her eyes and concentrated on the comfortable feeling of being held in Peeta's arms. Ever since she'd married Peeta, she hadn't been getting much sleep. They were newlywed after all and the time allotted for sleeping was often used for other activities. Not that she was complaining. But she was tired.

About an hour later she woke up with a start. Someone outside was calling for Peeta. She opened her eyes, seeing that he had fallen asleep as well. He was lying on his back, snoring lightly. She tapped his shoulder.

"I think we have a customer," she said, startling him awake.

He sat up and quickly got off of bed, rushing out of the building. Katniss rolled onto her back and stretched. She could hardly wait until this evening. Bedtime with Peeta had become her favorite time of the day. She stood up and smoothed the quilt over the mattress. She was going to find Prim and bring her here to show off the new bed.

By the end of the afternoon, every woman in camp had stopped by to see the new bed and had even stretched out on it for a moment.

"You're so lucky Katniss," Prim said. "Peeta is such a nice husband."

Katniss smiled, knowing that the odds were very much in her favor when she married Peeta.

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Summer had arrived. The weather was hot, making Madge very uncomfortable. She tired easily and complained of dizziness. According to Mrs. Everdeen's calculations, Madge's baby was due in early September, but Madge and Gale were telling everyone that the baby would arrive by the end of October. They hadn't told any family members other than Katniss' mother the truth about the baby's paternity.

But Katniss and Peeta knew. Katniss wondered if her Aunt Hazelle harbored any suspicions as Madge's belly was quite large for a baby not expected until the end of October.

Annie was also expecting. She was in the early stages, though, confined to her tent some days with morning sickness. On the days she felt better, she joined Prim and Madge in their sewing work.

The three women had set up shop in the Everdeen tent. Men would bring their torn clothing, ripped undergarments, and holey socks to them to mend. Occasionally they would get a customer from one of the other mining camps in the area. Annie also brought in additional business outside the camp because she had been trained in France to make lace. While this skill wasn't appreciated by the miners, her former co-workers at the brothel did appreciate it. As a result, Annie designed some custom lace undergarments for some of Effie's girls.

Business was booming for the others, as well. Katniss' mother and her aunt, with Posy's help, spent their days laundering the clothing of nearly every man in camp. They had strung up permanent clotheslines, which were fixed to every tree around their campsite. Uncle Samuel complained about the constant sea of wet clothes flapping in the breeze, but Aunt Hazelle reminded him that she was bringing in more gold than he by washing those wet clothes.

Peeta's bakeshop was also thriving. His was the only business selling food in the camp now. Sae's husband had developed rheumatism standing in the icy river water. The older couple had decided to leave the camp and open a restaurant in town next to Haymitch's saloon. That location would bring them more customers, as the saloon drew in men from the other mining camps in the area.

Dirty District 12 had changed in so many ways and was beginning to more and more resemble a town, and not a campground. A few other miners had erected small wooden houses on the sites where their tents had once stood. Small gardens had been planted. Peeta and Rye had built a chicken coop, and had stocked it with hens. With the addition of fresh eggs, Peeta was able to expand the variety of baked goods he sold.

But the large influx of miners to the camp also meant that the riverbed was mined more quickly. Men had to travel farther downstream to set up their mining operations. Other miners, mostly those from Mexico, had set up camps in the foothills, where Katniss' and Peeta's claim had been located. They used pickaxes to dig shafts up to forty feet deep in search of subterranean veins of gold-bearing quartz.

For the first time since she'd arrived in California, Katniss was content. Her life had taken on a satisfying rhythm. The days were long. She and Peeta rose early and spent the entire day baking. But the work was interrupted constantly by customers who would regale them with stories about their gold finds. They ate dinner most evenings with her family; Peeta contributing some kind of baked item to the meal. Occasionally Katniss would provide the meat after going hunting.

Six days of hard work, but the seventh was a day of rest. One of the miners was the son of a minister and he offered to conduct a weekly service, since Reverend Undersee hadn't returned to the camp yet. But later, after their big meal, there were long walks, picnics with the other married couples, sometimes Katniss and Peeta simply excused themselves to spend the afternoon relaxing in private.

It was hard to believe that she'd ever had regretted coming to California, difficult to believe she had resisted Peeta's affections for so long. She couldn't imagine any other life than the one she was living.

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They left Vick in charge of the bakeshop one August morning so they could go hunting. Katniss wanted to shoot a deer. Peeta wanted to try a new recipe making pies with the roasted venison. They took the horse and cart so they could easily transport the carcass back to the outdoor kitchen.

It was warm already, and judging by the clear blue sky it was bound to get even warmer. Peeta directed the horse toward the foothills. They'd both seen deer in that area previously when hunting, but Katniss had never attempted to shoot at one because she didn't want to drag it all the way back to the camp.

As Katniss and Peeta traveled, they noticed that a few other encampments had been established. More men were flocking to the gold fields, setting up small campsites. Many of these men were not Americans. They had traveled to California from Mexico, or South America, or even China. Most of these men avoided mixing with the American miners because of the prejudices that existed.

As a safety precaution, Peeta steered the horse and cart away from any grouping of tents they saw as they traveled. So he was surprised when he heard someone call out to him.

"Stop amigo," he heard. "Peeta, stop."

He slowed the horse and turned to see who was calling. It was Jaime.

They hadn't seen him since Christmas Eve, since they'd delivered gifts and food to him, his wife Marîa, and son Pepe.

Peeta halted the horse and he and Katniss dismounted to greet him.

"Your little friend, he is gone?" Jaime asked as he looked for Vick.

Peeta nodded. "Katniss and I are married now. We don't need a chaperone anymore."

Jaime laughed and slapped Peeta on the back. "Congratulations my friend."

"How is your family?" Peeta asked.

"We are well. I have a new son," Jaime bragged. "Maria gave birth to Carlos last month."

"Maybe you will have a son soon, too." He smiled at Peeta and glanced at Katniss.

She blushed and shook her head. She wasn't expecting, although it wasn't from lack of trying.

She was surprised to note a wistful look cross Peeta's face when Jaime was speaking, as if he was hoping what Jaime said was true.

Oddly, they had never even discussed having children, despite the fact that two of their friends, Madge and Annie, were expecting. She wasn't opposed to the idea but she wasn't in any hurry either. She was enjoying her time alone with Peeta very much. Being responsible for a child would take away from it.

Peeta continued speaking with Jaime and learned that his family had left their claim during the heavy winter rains and traveled toward the coast to wait out the winter. They'd only recently returned to the area with some Sonoran miners that had formed a group to mine in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

He pointed toward to a small cluster of tents off in the distance. "We live there."

After a while, Jaime said his goodbyes. He was walking to Dirty District 12 for supplies.

It took a long time for them to find a deer and even longer to get it back to camp. The creature was large and heavy. Peeta was strong, he could lift one hundred pound flour sacks with ease, but the deer was much heavier than that. Katniss eventually had to cut the limbs off before they could lift it into the cart. It was hot, sweaty work. When Katniss and Peeta arrived in camp, they were both covered in blood.

They didn't expect to be away from the bakeshop for the entire day and were concerned about how Vick had handled things. But the boy had done a good job. He'd sold most of the bread they'd baked earlier in the day. As soon as they arrived, though, Vick said he wanted to go back to his campsite.

"Something's wrong with Madge's baby," he told them. "It's coming early."

Katniss exchanged a glance with Peeta. The baby was probably fine. It was only a week early at most. But Vick didn't know all that.

"You should go," Peeta said. "And thanks for all your help today."

After the boy had left, Peeta asked Katniss if she wanted to pay Madge a visit.

"No," she said. "My mother will have things under control. Besides we need to take care of the deer right now."

The warm weather meant that the meat would have to be prepared and cooked immediately or it would spoil. It took several hours to dress the deer and cook it. While it was roasting, they took turns washing up in their living quarters.

When they finished bathing, Peeta told Katniss to take a break and visit her friend. "Maybe the baby is already here," he suggested.

The sun was going down as Katniss stopped at her family's campsite. As soon as she arrived, she could sense something wasn't right. For the first time ever, there was no card game going on at the Hawthorne's campfire. Instead Uncle Samuel was sitting at the fire with Vick and Rory. They were talking quietly. The atmosphere was somber, formal almost.

Uncle Samuel got up, and walked over to Katniss. His face was grim. "There were complications," he said. "Madge died." There were tears in his eyes.

A wave of dizziness overcame Katniss. She grabbed at her uncle's arm to steady herself. How could that be even possible? She had been joking with Madge only yesterday over dinner. Her friend had been the very picture of health with her round belly and pink cheeks. Uncle Samuel must be wrong. Very wrong.

"Where's my mother?" she asked sharply.

"Down at their tent," he pointed toward in the direction of the tent where Gale and Madge lived, the tent that had previously belonged to Reverend Undersee.

She turned quickly to leave. Because her uncle must be wrong.

"Katniss," he started, but she ignored him and left. The light was almost gone from the sky now, and the camp was loud with the sound of conversation, laughter, and occasional curses as she made her way down a dirt avenue lined with tents to reach her friend's home.

She'd remembered taking this same walk less than a year earlier when Gale had escorted her to the sick tent when her father had died. The memory of it brought back the same emotions she'd experienced then – fear and hopelessness.

Gale was sitting on the ground outside the tent when she arrived. He was bent over, his head resting in his hands. He was rocking back and forth slightly. Aunt Hazelle was squatting next to him, talking quietly.

As soon as she saw them, her heart skipped. Could Uncle Samuel be right?

She rushed past them and entered the dimly-lit tent. The canvas room was warm and the smell of blood was overwhelming. The air was hot and sticky, and Katniss found herself gasping to breath. She had spent most of her afternoon covered in blood from her kill and it hadn't bothered her much. But this was different.

Her mother's face was drawn. She looked like she had aged at least ten years. Prim was biting her lip to keep from crying, but tears were running down her cheeks. They were dipping rags into a bucket of water. Katniss looked more carefully and saw that they were mopping the blood off the lower part of Madge's body.

No. Uncle Samuel's words suddenly became real. She looked away quickly. It seemed wrong to stare at this sight of her friend. She heard a shrill cry and saw on the other side of the tent that Annie was cradling a baby. The baby was sucking on Posy's extended finger.

The baby, Katniss suddenly remembered. In her thoughts of Madge, she'd forgotten all about the baby. She knelt down next to Annie.

"How is.." she began, but Annie interrupted her. "It's a girl," she whispered. "Her name is Lavinia. Madge named her for her grandmother."

Katniss nodded, looking carefully at the fussy infant.

Annie continued speaking. "She's fine. But she needs to be fed. Finnick and Rye have ridden into town to get some milk from Effie's cows for now, and to see if anyone knows of a nursing mother who would be willing to take the baby on. Do you want to hold her?" Annie held the infant out to Katniss.

Katniss nodded, putting out her arms, but quickly drawing them back. All of a sudden the tent seemed to be spinning. She didn't want to take the baby and drop her.

"I…" she began before everything went black. In the darkness, she heard Prim gasp.

**Author's Note: In the mid-nineteenth century one out of every 150 women who gave birth died in the process. **

**Death can occur in less than two hours after the onset of bleeding associated with childbirth. Anemia is common in pregnancy and women with anemia and heavy bleeding after delivery are at high risk of death.**


	18. Chapter 18 - The Trials Of Life

**Chapter 18 – The Trials Of Life**

Peeta was sitting in front of the campfire, roasting the last bit of venison when Gale strode into the outdoor kitchen carrying Katniss in his arms. He immediately panicked. What was wrong with his wife? Had she been injured?

He leaped to his feet and ran to open the bakeshop door. "Set her on the bed." The squeak of the springs rang out as her body dropped onto the mattress.

"What happened?" he asked, noticing the man's dirty face, his eyes rimmed in red.

"She fainted, I think," Gale said gruffly.

Peeta wanted to ask more. Clearly something had gone terribly wrong. Shouldn't Gale be happy if Madge had just given birth. Had the baby died?

As if Gale could read Peeta's thoughts, he started to explain. "The baby is fine," he said. "But Madge…" he hesitated before speaking, his voice breaking, "She bled to death."

Peeta felt his stomach churn, like he would be sick. He couldn't imagine how Gale must be feeling – the utter heartache and despair. He walked over to the trunk in which he kept his clothes, opened it, and pulled out an almost full bottle of whiskey. He hadn't drunk from it in months, ever since he'd gotten married. He knew it wouldn't solve Gale's problems. But in this moment, it would take the edge off the pain.

Peeta touched Katniss' cheek and then felt her forehead. Her chest was rising up and down regularly. She looked to be fine, as if she had fallen asleep. It had been a long day for both of them. "Let's go outside," Peeta said, grabbing two glasses off a shelf.

Gale followed him out. They sat on stools near the fire. Peeta poured them each a glass. Gale drank it down in one swift gulp and Peeta poured him a second.

Neither spoke for a few minutes. Both sipped at their drinks and stared at the ground.

"I'm so sorry," Peeta started, but Gale interrupted him.

"The baby, she's not mine."

Peeta lifted his head to glance at Gale. He didn't say anything, even though he'd known that secret for months now.

"My family doesn't know," Gale added. "Although I'm sure my mother's worked it out by now."

Peeta nodded and Gale continued to speak.

"Madge met someone on the ship to California. He promised to marry her. But he got sick and died. They threw his body overboard." He paused for a moment, lost in thought, before adding, "she cried when she told me that last part."

Gale dropped his head and rubbed his free hand over his left temple. "You're probably wondering why I married her. A girl who was having someone else's child."

He lifted his head and glared at Peeta as if he was challenging him.

"You loved her."

Gale shook his head. "Not at first. Neither of us felt the way you and Katniss did. She needed help, though, and I could do that for her. I wanted to do it." He took a long sip from his glass, and then held it up, watching the amber liquid swirl around the glass in the firelight.

"I don't know what I expected when I married her. But she grew on me and I think I grew on her, a bit, too. I think… we would have been good together," he choked out. "But I guess I'll never know that now." He gulped the contents of the glass in one long swallow, and then stared off in the distance.

Peeta was suddenly thankful that Katniss was not expecting. He'd been a bit envious when Jaime had bragged on his new son, this morning. But now, with Gale by his side numb with grief over the loss of his wife, Peeta breathed a sigh of relief that she was safe for now.

He stood up. "I'll be right back," he said to Gale. "I want to check on Katniss."

She was snoring gently. She may have fainted, but she was sleeping now. He quickly returned to find Gale pouring himself a third glass of whiskey.

After Gale sat the bottle down. Peeta picked it up, and put the cork back into it. That was enough. He didn't want to get Gale drunk.

"Do you want something to eat?" he asked, as he got a stick and dragged the last of the cooked venison out of the fire.

Gale shook his head. "No." Then Gale jerked forward as if he remembered something. "The baby needs to eat. I need to find someone to nurse her because…" He didn't continue.

With the lack of women in the gold fields Peeta knew that it would be difficult to find a woman to take on that job. Suddenly he thought of Marîa. Maybe she'd be willing to help.

"There is a woman at a camp near the foothills who gave birth only a month ago," Peeta suggested. "She might be able to help."

Gale frowned. "Isn't that where the Mexicans dig for gold?"

Peeta nodded. "She is a Mexican woman, but she might be willing to help you." He didn't know how Gale felt about the Mexican miners, but he would be a fool to let his child die because he disliked Mexicans. "We could take the baby out to her when it gets light."

Gale nodded. "Let me think on it," he said, before standing up. "I should get back now."

After Gale left, Peeta washed the glasses, doused the fire and went inside to undress. He lay down beside Katniss. She had turned onto her side. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close.

He lay there a long time thinking. He couldn't help but put himself in Gale's position. The horror of it was overwhelming. Just as he was drifting off, Katniss began to thrash and whimper. His arm was still draped over her. He sat up, leaning against the brass headboard, and pulled her up and closer to him. He rubbed his hand in circles on her back.

"Wake up Katniss, you're dreaming." It took her a few moments to break free from her dream.

Once she was awake, she buried her face into Peeta's bare chest, her warm tears wetting his skin.

"Madge is dead," she whispered. Her voice was raw with emotion.

He kissed the top of her head, and then resting his chin upon it. "I know. Gale told me when he brought you back. He said you fainted."

Katniss didn't answer. But Peeta knew she was still crying. His chest was getting wetter and wetter. After a long time, the tears stopped.

He wiped her face dry with the palm of his hand, before moving it down to unbutton her dress. She helped him pull it off and then they both slid down onto the bed to face each other. He wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her near for a kiss. In the middle of the night they comforted each other.

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Peeta woke before it was light. He carefully untangled himself from Katniss, who was curled into his side. He quickly dressed and went outside to build a fire and start baking. He didn't know if Vick would come to work today and he wanted to get as much baking done before the day started. He expected he'd have to take Gale out to Jaime's camp to see about obtaining Maria's services as a wet nurse. Also, he imagined that Madge's funeral would be today, as well. The weather was so warm; she would have to be buried.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he was surprised to see Rye standing there when he looked up for a moment.

"Do you have any coffee made?"

Peeta nodded, pointing to the pot that hung over the campfire.

"Everyone's sleeping in at the Hawthorne campsite," Rye said. "I think they were awake half the night. They're upset she died… but Hazelle is having fits because she said the baby is too big and came too soon to have survived.

"Your mother-in-law told her it happens sometimes, that the Hawthorne babies are always big. But some of the things Hazelle said about Madge…well, she didn't sound much like the good Christian lady she claims to be. It's a good thing Gale stayed back at his tent so he didn't have to listen to that harangue."

Peeta removed the pot, poured a cup for his brother, and handed it to him.

"Finnick and I went into town to get some cow's milk for the baby and to ask around to find a woman to nurse it. We checked with that girl Delly, up at Effie's house."

Rye's voice took on a high pitch as he mimicked Delly's "lands sakes," then went on to say "she's the biggest gossip I've ever met, but even she didn't know of any new mothers in the area. Guess there aren't many decent women around these parts."

"There is a woman at the Mexican camp who might be able to help," Peeta said. "I told Gale about her."

Rye whistled. "I guess they don't have much choice if they want that baby to live, do they?"

"No, they really don't."

"How is Katniss taking the news?" Rye asked. "I heard she fainted."

"She's upset," Peeta admitted.

"Annie is beside herself. When we got back with the milk she told Finnick she wants to leave the camp. She doesn't want to have her baby here. Maybe they'll move out of the tent so I can move back in." He smiled at the thought.

Peeta frowned. He liked Annie and Finnick. He hoped the couple would stay at the camp. Besides for all his complaining about bunking with the Hawthornes, Rye appeared to have become like another son to Hazelle and Samuel.

"Does anyone know where Madge's father is now?" Peeta asked.

Rye shook his head. "He took off for parts unknown. He didn't even know there was a baby coming."

Peeta wondered at that, but he didn't say anything.

His brother soon left to see if the Hawthorne family was awake. Peeta gave him some fresh eggs, a couple of loaves of bread and a large chunk of cooked venison to bring back.

Katniss came out of the bakeshop after a while. Her face was puffy and Peeta could tell that she'd been crying again. He hugged her before giving her some coffee and biscuits to eat. She drank the coffee, but picked at the biscuits.

While she was nibbling at her food, Gale appeared. It was clear he hadn't slept. There were dark circles around his eyes and his hair was disheveled. "Could you take me out to that Mexican camp?" he asked. "The baby needs to be fed. I don't want her to die too."

Katniss exchanged glances with Peeta.

"Marîa is the only new mother in the area that I know of who could nurse the baby," he explained. "Will you mind the shop while I go with Gale?"

"Of course," she agreed.

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Eventually, Peeta, Gale, and Hazelle, who carried the baby in a sling on her chest, set off on horses for the Mexican camp. When they arrived, an old man with a gun, who spoke little English, halted them. Peeta guessed Jaime was with the other miners in the nearby foothills mining for gold.

Fortunately, the baby started crying. Soon some women and children in the camp, including Marîa, gathered round them. Marîa recognized Peeta, but he wasn't sure if she understood when he tried to explain about the baby.

Hazelle interrupted his explanation by shoving the baby to Marîa's chest and making sucking noises. The baby turned it head instinctively opening and closing its mouth in as it tried to latch onto the fabric of Marîa's dress.

Peeta looked away. He didn't know much about women nursing babies. Marîa seemed to have understood what Hazelle was attempting to pantomime. The two women disappeared into a tent. They stayed inside for a long time, while Peeta and Gale sat at the campfire. Another woman gave them some coffee as they waited.

Eventually, Hazellle came out of the tent. The baby was sleeping. "We'll need to come back tomorrow," she told Gale.

Peeta wondered how this was going to work. Babies needed to be fed daily, several times a day. Would they consider leaving the baby here with Marîa? He wasn't sure. But at least, for now, the baby had been fed.

They got back onto the horses and rode back to camp. It was close to noon and it was hot already. As soon as they returned, the funeral was held.

Preparations had been underway all morning. Rory and Finnick had gone to town early to get some boards. They returned to camp to nail them together to make a wooden box. Rye and Vick had dug a grave under the oak tree next to where Mr. Everdeen lay. Annie, Prim, and Mrs. Everdeen had dressed Madge in her pink gingham wedding dress and combed out her hair. She had been gently lifted into the wooden coffin, with a small bouquet of wildflowers placed in her hands.

By the time Gale arrived, he was led to the gravesite where everyone was gathered.

"Do you want one last look?" his father asked before he nailed the lid shut.

Gale shook his head. "I want to remember Madge the way she was," he said. He was clutching the baby so tightly that she started to wimper.

Peeta wrapped his arm around Katniss' waist as scriptures were read and prayers were said. Everyone picked up some a handful of dirt and tossed in onto the wooden box, which had been lowered into the ground. Afterwards Finnick and Rye shoveled in dirt to fill the hole. A tiny wooden cross was set in place to mark the spot.

Peeta invited everyone back to the outdoor kitchen to eat. There was plenty of venison and bread. Katniss had also made a large salad from lettuce she'd grown in their small garden. The dessert was plum pie.

Finnick and Rye contributed liquor and everyone, except for Posy and Vick, had at least one glass to toast the memory of Madge. Even Hazelle who didn't imbibe had a drink.

Conversation turned to how they could notify Reverend Undersee. Peeta suggested that maybe Thom could post a notice in his store. Maybe a miner from another camp might see it and the word would be passed along.

Before long, Baby Lavinia began cry. Rory had gotten fresh cow's milk in town that morning, but when Hazelle attempted to feed it to her in a cup, Lavinia spit it out and continued to cry.

Gale took the crying infant from his mother's arms. "I'm taking my daughter back to that woman," Gale said.

"We'll go back in the morning," Hazelle promised.

"Mom, Lavinia could be dead by morning if she doesn't eat."

Gale stormed off carrying the baby. The gathering broke up quickly. Peeta and Katniss spent the next hour washing the dishes and cleaning up the area.

"How is Gale going to feed Lavinia?" Katniss wondered. "He can't travel out to that campsite a couple of times a day. He has to work at the river. He's going to have to leave her with Marîa."

Peeta shook his head. He wondered the same.

By the next evening, the problem was solved. Gale sold his interest in the rocker to Finnick who would join the Hawthornes' and Rye in their gold mining operation on the river.

Afterwards, Gale took down the Undersee's tent, packed up his belonging, and the clothing Madge had made for baby, and moved himself and his daughter to the Mexican camp. He had persuaded those miners to let him join them in their search for gold in the foothills. He would pay Marîa to nurse and tend to Lavinia while he worked.

Initially Hazelle was furious that her son had left, but she soon realized that he had no choice. She consoled herself with his promise that he would visit every Sunday with the baby.

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The hot summer faded into a warm fall. The feeling of loss gradually eased and life fell back into its regular pattern. The population of Dirty District 12 continued to grow as men who had crossed the plains by wagon train finally arrived in California. There were a few incidences of theft in camp and when a man was caught, judgment was swift. Peeta was the

only one on the council who didn't vote for the man's death, especially as it couldn't be proved he was, in fact, the thief.

But the other council members' vote overruled Peeta's and the twenty-year-old man was immediately hung as an example to the rest of the camp that thievery wasn't permitted.

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The October day started out overcast and warm. Peeta needed to go to town to get supplies. He asked Katniss to go with him. He wanted to get her away from the camp. Something was bothering her and he didn't know what. She'd been so quiet lately, sometimes even a little sad.

He left Vick in charge of the bakeshop.

When they arrived in District 12, they first stopped at Sae's restaurant to say "hello." Even though Peeta and Sae had had their differences, they had parted on good terms. He and Katniss sat in her small diner, eating cobbler as Peeta told Sae about the changes that had occurred in Dirty District 12 since she and her husband had left.

Afterwards, they made their way to Thom's store. Thom helped Peeta load the flour and sugar sacks onto the cart. He told them that his business was booming because of all the men flooding to the gold fields.

Their last stop was to Effie's house. Peeta had brought some eggs and bread to trade for milk. Delly answered the door when Peeta knocked.

She smiled at the both of them, quickly grabbed a bucket and met them around the back in the shed where the cows lived. Delly handed Peeta the bucket. "Do you think you can remember how to milk them?" she asked.

Peeta nodded. Katniss stood back to watch. He deliberately fumbled with the animal's teats to make Katniss smile.

"Landsakes," Delly yelled at him. "Don't you remember anything I showed you?"

She pushed him off the stool, nearly knocking him to the ground, and then milked both cows herself. When she had finished, she handed one of the buckets to Peeta.

"How's that brother of yours?" she asked him.

"He's fine." Peeta exchanged a curious glance with Katniss. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I haven't seen him in a while," she said. "I enjoyed taking with him. But I saw your cousin last week." She looked directly at Katniss.

"What? My cousin…"

"Gale," Delly said. "He paid a visit to Jo."

Katniss' mouth dropped open. Her face grew pink.

A clap of thunder sounded. All of them looked upward at the overcast sky. There was no rain.

Peeta nudged his shoulder against Kantiss. "We should get going before the storm hits."

They put the bucket into the back of the cart, covering it with a clean cloth, before they both climbed up onto the horse.

"I can't believe Gale would visit Effie's house," Katniss fumed, as they rode back to camp. "Madge died less than two months ago."

Peeta smiled to himself. Now that sounds like my Katniss, he thought.

Another clap of thunder boomed. A gust of wind blew past them. In the distance they saw a flash of lightening. Still no rain.

"Peeta, if I died…."

"Don't talk like that," he said. He wondered if that was what was bothering her. Fearing that she could die in childbirth like Madge.

"I know. But in case I…" she continued.

"No, Katniss, I don't even want to discuss it." He'd been pushing that very thought from his own mind ever since Madge's death. He reached up and put his fingers over her lips, and then bent down to kiss the back of her neck.

Another thunderclap. A streak of lightening flashed and then they heard a crackling sound. The wind was picking up.

Peeta and Katniss rode in silence for another half mile, before they both noticed smoke in the distance.

"What's that?" Katniss asked.

A sinking sensation started in the pit of Peeta's stomach. It was the mining camp. Dirty District 12 was on fire. They could see the orange flames ahead of them. He pulled on the horse's reins to pick up speed, but with the load of the wagon and two riders on its back the mare couldn't go much faster.

By the time they arrived at the outskirts of the camp, pandemonium was underway. Men were rushing about with buckets of water. Some miners were running into tents to carry out their personal belongings.

The wind had picked up and flames were spreading. They were jumping from trees, to tents, to the few wooden buildings in the camp.

"Where is my sister?" Katniss yelled. She tried to get off the horse, but Peeta held her firmly about the waist.

He put his head close to her ear so she could hear him above the noise of the wind and the shouting men. "She's probably waiting in a safe place with the others."

He hoped everyone was safe, but he was concerned. If a spark were to land on any of the women's full skirts, it would be difficult to put it out.

Another thunderclap boomed overhead and with it came a rush of water. Rain. It was hard and heavy. Peeta and Katniss were quickly soaked through. But the fire was extinguished within minutes.

Then as quickly as it had started, the rain immediately stopped. However the smell of smoke hung about the air, its stench overwhelming.

Peeta and Katniss dismounted from the horse. Peeta slowly led it back to their campsite. There was destruction all around, but the fire had been selective. Some tents were completely burned to the ground, while others remained untouched. For a fleeting moment, Peeta hoped the bakeshop had been spared.

But when they came upon it, the only thing marking where it had stood was the frame of their brass bed. The quilt and mattress had been burned away.

Peeta heard a retching sound beside him and turned. It was Katniss. She was leaning over the ground, hugging her stomach and vomiting.

**Author's Note: The mining camps were constructed of canvas tents and wooden buildings. Fires were very common and many camps and even towns were destroyed by fire, some more than once. **


	19. Chapter 19 - Starting Over

**Chapter 19 – Starting Over**

Katniss' heart had raced when she saw Dirty District 12 in flames. She and Peeta had dismounted and walked through the smoldering camp. In a matter of minutes her throat and nose were burning from the smoke. The coughing began soon after and her lungs felt as if they were being cooked. Each breath sent a searing pain through her chest.

Finally, they arrived at their campsite. The bakeshop was gone. Only the brass bed remained, its golden color tarnished to a dull grey from the heat.

The shock, the smells, and an overwhelmingly queasy stomach caused her to double over and retch until there was nothing left to come up.

Peeta had grabbed at her side, holding her up as she continued to vomit. When she had emptied her stomach, he guided her around to the back of the cart, picked her up, and set her on top of a sack of flour.

"Wait here," he said. "I'm going to look for everyone."

Katniss lay back on the sack and closed her eyes. What was wrong with her? She fell asleep in the wagon, but when she opened her eyes she was in her mother's tent. Prim was there to greet her. Her sister's face was dirty from the smoke and there were tiny bits of dark ash stuck to her blonde hair.

"What happened?" she asked her sister.

"You got sick from the smoke. Peeta brought you here."

"Is everyone safe?" Katniss asked, fearful of hearing bad news.

"Yes, but this is the only tent we have that's still standing."

"Where is everyone?"

"Outside, trying to salvage what's left."

Katniss looked carefully at her sister. Living in a mining camp this past year had made Prim grow up quickly. She had the face of a young woman now, not a child.

"I don't think we're going to stay here," Prim admitted. "I don't know if there still is a Dirty District 12 anymore. A lot of the miners have already left for other camps."

Katniss got up and left the tent. If it weren't for Vick's rock border that outlined the area, she never would have recognized the site as her family's home for the past year. The clotheslines that had been strung from the trees had fallen down and half-burned clothing lay in the dirt. The makeshift wooden table that her cousins had played cards at every evening was a heap of charred debris.

Her mother and Hazelle were cooking dinner over the campfire, using up the remainder of the food stores that hadn't been destroyed. Posy was helping them. Uncle Samuel, Rory, and Vick were picking through what remained of the other two tents. They had made a pile, but it wasn't very big, only a few iron tools, and tin cups and plates.

Their biggest concern was finding their gold, which had been stored in cloth pouches that had burned in the fire. They were carefully sifting through the ashes mining it for a second time.

Her mother turned from her work to study Katniss. "How are you feeling, honey?"

She was surprised by her mother's term of affection. She hadn't called her `honey' since Katniss was a small child. It dawned on her that her mother seemed to be taking the calamity extremely well, especially for a woman known for running to her bed to rest whenever problems struck. Maybe she was glad for a reason to finally quit the mining camp.

"I feel alright."

"I'd like to speak with you privately though."

Her mother grabbed at her arm and pulled her back inside the tent, asking Prim to help Hazelle.

"Peeta mentioned you haven't acting like yourself, for a while," her mother said.

What? Why would he do that? For the very briefest of moments she was angry with him.

Then her shoulders sagged. She hadn't been well. Something was wrong.

"I'm tired," she said. "And sad."

Her mother nodded. "That's normal, you're grieving your friend. We all are."

"No, it's not that." She paused for a moment. It wasn't grief she was feeling. There was something physically wrong with her. "Everything smells different, stronger. Food tastes different. Coffee tastes so bitter now. I tried putting sugar in it, but it hasn't helped. I can't drink it anymore."

"Katniss have you been having…."

"Yes, I have," she stopped her mother. "But not nearly as much as usual," she added.

A tiny smile formed on her mother's lips. "Katniss, I think you may be expecting. Some women have minor bleeding the first few months. It's not uncommon. As for your sense of smell and taste being affected, that happened to me when I carried you and Prim. It's annoying, but it will go away."

Could she be having a baby? Instinctively she wrapped her hands around her midsection. There was a very slight swelling there, but she'd attributed it to all the extra bread she'd been eating lately. It was the only thing that seemed to settle her upset stomach.

A frown appeared on her face as her thoughts flew to Peeta. How would he take the news, especially now that the fire had destroyed their home and their business? The timing of this announcement was not good.

"Are you worried about what happened to Madge?" her mother questioned. "It doesn't mean it will happen to you, too. You come from very hearty stock."

Katniss shook her head. "No, it's Peeta," she explained. "So much has happened…."

"Katniss, you don't need to tell him today. You'll know when the time is right. Then, when you're both ready, you can tell the everyone else."

Katniss left the tent to go look for her husband. She suspected he was at the charred remains of the bakeshop. Her mother told her to come back within the hour, as dinner would soon be ready.

As she walked through the camp she marveled at the destruction of the fire. Prim was right, the camp was nearly deserted. She couldn't blame the miners, though. They were mostly young men, without ties to Dirty District 12, many having lived here for just a few months. There was no reason for them to stay, not when they could simply pick up and easily move to another camp.

When she arrived at the spot where the bakeshop had stood, she found Peeta and Rye digging through the burned rubble. Peeta had made a pile of items, which included his two cook stoves, lots of baking pans, silverware, and plates.

Nearby she could see Annie and Finnick sitting on the ground next to what was left of the Rye and Peeta's tent. Finnick was hugging Annie who was crying. Other than some mining tools, it didn't look like much remained of their possessions.

Katniss walked over to the spot where Peeta and Rye were sorting. "Dinner will be ready in an hour at my family's campsite," she said.

"Think I'm done here Peetie," Rye said. "I'll give these chickens to Hazelle to cook up." He was carrying two hens that had died in their coop from the smoke of the fire. They were all that was left of the dozen that lived in the hen house that had burned.

Peeta wrapped his arms around Katniss. "Are you feeling alright?" he asked as he pressed his head to the side of her face.

"Yes. How are you?" She pulled her face back to study him.

"I've been better." Peeta looked tired and overwhelmed.

"Is there anything left," she asked, as she scanned the rubble, her eyes landing on the bed frame.

"Not much. All of our personal stuff is gone."

She thought back over her belongings that had sat in the wooden trunk. She would have worn her best dress today if she had known there was going to be a fire. At least she'd worn her father's leather hunting jacket. Then she remembered what sat on top of the box.

"My bow?"

"It's gone, along with the arrows and your game bag."

Tears formed in her eyes, she blinked and one fell onto her cheek. Immediately she wiped it away. The bow was a terrible loss because of the memories it held. But it could be replaced. At least no one had been hurt. That was the most important part.

"Peeta are we broke?" she asked fearfully. She knew he had kept his gold earnings from the bakery in a sack he hid in the trunk that held his clothes. The trunk had burned. Had he been able to dig the gold out of the ashes that remained? Was her entire life going to be a never-ending saga of slowly getting ahead only to be pushed back again?

A goofy grin spread across Peeta's face. "The gold is safe. I just dug it up."

"You buried it." She was amazed and suddenly very relieved. "Where?"

"Under our bed. It's right here." He patted at the bulging pocket of his overcoat.

"Why did you bury it?"

"With the thefts in the camp, I didn't want to take any chances. But to answer your question, we're not broke. We're actually quite well off. We'll be fine, Katniss, we will."

Katniss kissed Peeta soundly when she heard that news. It was so nice to have a clever husband. Maybe things would be okay.

They decided to take a break and head over to the other campsite for dinner. They called to Annie and Finnick to join them.

"What are your plans?" Finnick asked as they walked to dinner.

Peeta rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. "I don't have one yet. But I don't think it's worth rebuilding here, especially with winter on the way. It looks like a lot of miners have already left the camp."

A lively discussion ensued over the meal about whether to stay in Dirty District 12 or move on.

"We could always return to Oregon, Peet," Rye suggested, rolling his eyes as he spoke.

Katniss was relieved to see Peeta shake his head. From the little he'd shared about his mother, she didn't think she wanted to meet up with that woman.

Eventually, everyone decided for themselves where they would go. No one wanted to return to Oregon. For all of them, California was home now.

Hazelle and Samuel wanted to leave the gold fields altogether, and start farming the rich California soil. Samuel's health had never fully returned after his sickness and as Hazelle admitted, she was tired of living in a tent and washing other people's clothing. They would take Vick and Posy with them. Vick could help his father and maybe even buy some land of his own when he cashed in his golden rock. Their first stop would be Sacramento City so the family could replace their clothing and other personal necessities that had been destroyed in the fire.

Rory planned to join Gale in hunting for gold in the hills. His brother had been quite enthusiastic in describing the pickings while visiting the family on his Sunday visits with Lavinia.

Rye and Finnick also wanted to continue hunting for gold. It was agreed that they would take the rocker and move to another mining camp in the area. They could work at it at least until the winter weather arrived. Annie wasn't pleased about the decision because she did not want to have her baby born in a mining camp. But the baby wasn't due for several months, and for now at least, she could easily set up her sewing business in another location.

Katniss' mother and Prim decided to travel with Hazelle and Samuel to Sacramento City, and possibly settle there. Prim was eager to better herself, to finish up her schooling and maybe even become a teacher. Katniss' mother hoped to re-start her mid-wife business in a place where the population included some women of child-bearing years.

Katniss looked at Peeta, wondering where they would end up. It was strange to think she'd be separating from her mother and sister, but she was married. She was having Peeta's child. They were a family now.

"There's nothing here," Peeta told her. "We'll go into town tomorrow. Maybe we can work with Sae again until we can figure something out."

"Where will we live? We don't have a tent."

"Thom might have one for sale."

Katniss wondered if she told him about her pregnancy would he make different plans; maybe follow her family to Sacramento City? But she knew he had a good reputation as a baker in the area. He had customers from town and from some of the other mining camps. Maybe he could open a new bakeshop in town. Why should he start all over in a brand new place?

She wished she could talk with him privately about everything. But there was no privacy for anyone now. In fact, all of the women ended up sharing the tent that evening while the men slept under the stars.

Katniss' mother gave all the quilts she had left to the men to stay warm, while the women huddled together. Katniss wrapped her arm around Prim, thinking it might be the last time she'd ever sleep with her, at least for a good while.

She lay awake for a long time that night, thinking on the unexpected happenings that had occurred to her over the past year, most of them occurring suddenly without any warning – her father's death, her marriage, her friend's death, the fire, and now a baby and a move away from the mining camp.

She wasn't the same person that had traveled to California a year earlier. That girl had been so naïve about life, thinking that if she built up high walls around her feelings that she'd avoid all of life's heartaches. She wondered how she could have ever been that foolish. Troubles were part of life. And they were easier to bear when you let people in to share them with you.

The atmosphere the next morning was somber. There wasn't much to pack up and there was hardly anything left to eat. It was decided that everyone would stop at Sae's restaurant in town for a meal prior to heading their separate ways.

Before they left however, Hazelle heated water for washing and the women took turns bathing in privacy in the tent. The men went down to the river, stripping down and washing in the cold water. All of them smelled like smoke and sweat and they wanted to be washed clean of the fire.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

There were three long tables that made up Sae's diner and their group filled up two of the tables. At the other table sat Haymitch, Cray and Effie, who turned to look as everyone came in and sat down. Sae didn't appear very surprised to see them. She threw hand-written menus in front of everyone, but stopped when she reached Peeta.

"The camp is destroyed?" she asked him.

"Most of it." He described the rubble of the outdoor kitchen, which they had shared.

"What are you planning to do?"

"Are you hiring?" He had a serious look on his face and Katniss knew he was hoping she'd say 'yes.'

Sae pursed her lips. "I could use your help baking, and maybe the girl's for hunting."

"Katniss will need to get another bow," Peeta said. "It was lost in the fire. Even the barrels on our guns melted."

"Do you have a tent?"

Peeta shook his head. "It burned down, as well. But I might be able to pick one up from Thom."

"None left," interrupted Haymitch, who had been listening in to the conversation. "Sold out yesterday afternoon. It will take Thom at least three weeks to get more in stock. Boarding house is full too, if you're thinking of that."

Peeta frowned.

"But you can stay with me until Thom gets some new tents," Haymitch said. "You can pay me in bread. The girl can sing."

Katniss kicked Peeta's foot under the table. "No," she mouthed as he turned to look at her.

"I have a better offer," Effie spoke up. "I have a spare room in my establishment and am in desperate need of a cook. My niece Delly, who was supposed to be doing the job, but has failed miserably. If you can teach her to bake and cook, you can stay rent-free for the winter. I suppose you'd have time to help out Sae, as well."

Peeta looked at Katniss, raising his eyebrows as if to say `what do you think of this?'

Before Katniss could answer though, her aunt burst out. "You're not seriously considering living in a brothel?"

"The rooms are quite nice there, you know," Finnick retorted.

Aunt Hazelle turned to Finnick and glared. He glared back at her.

Meanwhile, Katniss nodded her head at Peeta.

"We accept," Peeta told Effie.

Katniss smiled at Peeta, then nervously looked down the table to glance at her mother and Prim. She hoped they understood that she'd rather spend the winter in a house, instead of in a tent, especially in her condition. From the look in her mother's eyes she guessed her mother did.

After the meal, there were tearful goodbyes by everyone, and promises to keep in touch and visit regularly.

Eventually everyone left, heading off in different directions to their future.

Peeta led his horse and cart to the back of Effie's house, unhitched the horse and placed her in a stall next to the cows.

Delly came out of the house to greet them. "My aunt says you're going to teach me to cook," she said cheerily. "Did she also tell you you'd have to milk the cows? Twice a day."

Peeta shook his head.

"Well, you better get started." She handed him a bucket and then walked away.

"Something tells me she's going to be an interesting student." Katniss laughed, as Peeta pulled up the milking stool and got to work.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I never thought I'd see the inside of one of these rooms."

Katniss snorted. She sat down on the upholstered chair and surveyed the small room with its brass bed and wardrobe. Over the bed was a painting of a mocking bird in flight. Across from the bed, next to the door was a larger painting featuring a meadow filled with yellow flowers. It was a pretty painting, one she would not tire of quickly.

"Is the room, alright?" Peeta asked her.

She nodded. "I like it." It was nicer than any bedroom she'd ever had. It was on the lower level of the house near to the kitchen, and far away from the rooms where the women did business upstairs.

"I know this is a strange place for us to live, but it won't be home for long."

"Did you see Aunt Hazelle's face when she heard where we'd be living?"

Peeta laughed. "That was certainly something. But I imagine my mother would react much the same." He paused, and then added, "I'm glad your mother was more understanding."

"That's because..." Katniss began, when she was interrupted by a knock on the door.

Peeta opened it. It was Delly. She was holding a tray with toasted bread, a small slab of butter, and a knife.

"Here I brought you something to eat," she chirped.

Peeta glanced at the bread, which was burned black along the edges. He picked up a piece. "I can see why your aunt hired me Delly. This bread is burnt."

"Landsakes, I never said I was a baker," Delly huffed. She shoved the tray into Peeta's hands and shut the door loudly.

Peeta carried the tray over to the bed and set it down. Katniss got out of the chair and joined him on the bed. He picked up a piece of the bread, breaking off the burned part, then buttered the rest. He held it up to Katniss offering her the first bite, before eating the rest. She picked up a second piece, buttered it, and then offered a bite to him.

When they were done eating, Peeta set the tray on the top of the wardrobe and climbed back onto the bed. He wrapped his arm around Katniss' shoulder as they leaned up against the brass headboard. They were quiet for a long time, both thinking over the day's events.

"Will you miss your family?" he finally asked.

"Yes," she choked back a sob, and he tightened his arm around her. She sat there for a minute before regaining her composure.

"But you're my family now, Peeta." Her voice was firm. She hesitated for a moment, before adding. "You and the baby."

Peeta's eyes grew big. "Katniss are you sure?"

She smiled nervously. "My mother suspects it. I think she's right. It certainly explains why I've been feeling so unusual lately."

He put his hand on her cheek and pulled her face toward him. She leaned in to kiss her husband. It was a tender kiss filled with hope for a yet unknown future. After a while, they broke apart.

They quickly prepared for sleep, locking the door before undressing, opening the window, pulling back the coverlet, and blowing out the candles that were atop the wardrobe.

Much later, as she lay curled into Peeta's chest with his arms tight around her, she wondered if it was possible that home could be a person and not a place. Maybe that's why her mother was able to travel in a wagon across the plains to Oregon, and then pick up again to go to California.

Maybe that's why she could face a future so unsettled and be content that things would work out no matter how bad their losses.

If home were a person, than for her that person was surely Peeta. Because if he was there, she was home.

"Are you awake," he whispered, his warm breath caressing the side of her face, his hand reaching down to rest on her belly, to rub gentle circles over it.

"Yes," she murmured. "You should be sleeping, though. You have to get up early to milk those cows."

"Will you sing me to sleep?"

"What?"

"You know, to practice…for the baby. Please."

She smiled to herself. "Alright, just this once." Softly she sang out,

_And when my fever'd lips were parched_

_On Afric's burning sand,_

_She whisper'd hopes of happiness,_

_And tales of distant land. _

_My life had been a wilderness,_

_Unblest by fortune's gale,_

_Had fate not link'd my lot to hers,_

_The Rose of Allandale,_

_The Rose of Allandale, the Rose of Allandale,_

_Had fate not link'd my lot to hers,_

_The Rose of Allandale._

THE END

**Author's Note: Thanks so much for all the follows, favorites, and reviews for this story. I'm glad so many people have enjoyed reading it. **_**Argonauts And Allies**_** does not have an epilogue because I may yet revisit these characters in a sequel story to be written in the future. **

**However, my next writing endeavor is in a different vein altogether. It is set in Panem, in a world without the Hunger Games. I am currently writing it, and hope to have it finished and ready to post in later June. If you are interested in reading it or anything else I may write in the future, be sure to click on the follow author button at the bottom of this page.**


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